COMMODITY TRADERS GRIN IN RAMADAN

Ramadan, the fasting month for Muslims, sees a spike in demand for many commodities.

The month fuels consumption of gram, edible oil, sugar, date and onion apart from processed food, vegetables such as brinjal, green chili, cucumber and fruits.

The fasting month for Muslims, who represent 90 percent of Bangladesh’s total population, also pushes up the demand for bottled water, juice, fruits and drinks.

The demand for milk and milk products shoots up 50 percent during Ramadan, said Kamruzzaman Kamal, director marketing of PRAN-RFL Group, a leading food and commodity processor.

Also, demand for puffed rice, vermicelli, snacks such as noodles increases during the fasting month.

Ramadan accounts for 80 percent of the annual demand for puffed rice, he added.

The demand for spices and meat also go up.

But flour, rice, bread biscuits, confectionery and jams decline during the fasting month.

The major commodity players are: Meghna Group of Industries, City Group and TK Group. There are some other companies that have dominance on some specific products, such as Chattogram-based BSM Group in gram import.

Though City Group is the leader in sugar, there are some other players such as Abdul Monem Group, S Alam Group and Deshbandhu Group that have significant market share.

ACI Group has almost one-fourth the share of the salt market.

The companies take preparation to import these goods several months in advance and get their supply chain ready for transporting these goods across the country.