Top business leaders yesterday urged the government to postpone its decision to close stores, shopping malls, markets and kitchen markets after 8:00pm until Eid-ul-Azha since an early closure will deal a blow to their sales.

The plea from two separate meetings of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and the Bangladesh Chamber of Industries (BCI) came after the government moved to shut stores and markets after 8:00pm to save electricity and energy costs amid rising energy prices worldwide.

On Thursday, the government ordered the authorities to take necessary measures to this effect. 

"Festival-centric sales usually get momentum after the evening when offices close. So, if the opening hour of shops is limited to 8:00pm, hundreds of thousands of small and medium-sized businesses across the country will be in trouble," said Mostofa Azad Chowdhury Babu, senior vice-president of the FBCCI, at a meeting at the Federation Building.

The business people, at the meeting of the FBCCI standing committee on local garments, said businesses had suffered losses as sales plummeted during festivals such as Eid and Bangla New Year in the last two years owing to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a press release.

"If the decision on shops closure is implemented before Eid-ul-Azha, small and medium businesses will suffer the most," said Anwar-ul-Alam Chowdhury, president of the BCI, at a separate meeting at the BCI office in Dhaka.

Around 60 per cent of the annual sales take place during Eid-ul-Fitr, around 20 per cent during Eid-ul-Azha and 20 per cent the rest of the year, he said.

"But because of the pandemic, there was a huge fall in sales during at least five Eid festivals. The traders may miss the upcoming Eid sales if the decision is implemented."

"Closing shops at 8:00pm is not an effective way to save energy. Rather, the government should focus on the proper management of resources to reduce wastages."

Talking to The Daily Star, Helal Uddin, president of the Bangladesh Shop Owners Association proposed re-fixing opening hours so that shops and markets can operate from 12:00 noon to 9:00pm.

The labour ministry has called a meeting to implement the government's move.

An invitation has been sent to the president of the Bangladesh Employers' Federation, the FBCCI, the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, and the Bangladesh Shop Owners Association, to attend the meeting at the ministry's conference room. 

The government has been forced to move to cut imports as higher inflation has hit people hard and rising bills put a strain on the foreign currency reserves and the exchange rate of the local currency against the US dollar.