Curfew and violence slowly bleeding the economy

The ongoing nationwide curfew, which may be necessary for security reasons, and internet shutdown are slowly bleeding the economy and causing untold sufferings for businesses and ordinary citizens. The country's biggest exporting sector, the garment sector, has already endured direct losses amounting to around $48 million due to the production suspension, according to a report in this daily. When the country's exports have been on a decline over the last three years, such a big hit to its largest export sector could prove seriously damaging moving forward.

The violence that happened across the country in recent days, along with the repressive tendencies demonstrated by government agencies, has definitely damaged the image that Bangladesh has painstakingly built in the global arena over the years. This could mean that less business prospects will be available for local businesses with international partners, and other indirect losses that industries will have to incur. Losses due to delays, with buyers either cancelling work orders or shifting them to other countries, is already a concern that garment industry insiders are fearing.

On top of that, the shipment of goods because of unrest and curfew has come to a grinding halt. Reportedly, 6,000 export goods containers are currently stuck at Chattogram Port depots as customs cannot clear export consignments, and shipping agents have lost contact with main line operators without access to the internet. Operational activities at the port have been moving at a snail's pace, and port yards have been choked with containers. Meanwhile, export activities at Inland Container Depots dropped by 80-85 percent due to the unavailability of export cargo from factories.

With vehicles used to carry goods sitting idle for the last few days, the overall losses of the truckers would amount to at least Tk 175 crore per day. And due to the increased transportation risks, the very few vehicles transporting perishable goods such as fresh vegetables and fruits are demanding higher fares as risk premium—in most cases nearly double the normal rent per vehicle. As a result, prices of essential commodities including vegetables and eggs skyrocketed in kitchen markets across the capital and elsewhere. Low-income people and informal workers have been hit the worst by this. According to the Labour Force Survey 2022, more than five crore people (84.9 percent) of the employed population are engaged in the country's informal sector, over one crore of them working in Dhaka. What will happen to these people if the curfew continues? Without any available work, how will these people meet their daily needs, particularly with prices of essentials rising by the hour?

Under the circumstances, the government urgently needs to restore the country's internet connection and lift the curfew, so that all economic activities can resume as per normal.

This editorial was published in print on July ­23, 2024. Owing to the internet shutdown from the evening of July 18 to July 23, it was uploaded online on July 24, 2024.