Tk of around 2 lakh crore have been spent centering on the celebration of Eid-ul-Fitr going to take place at the last of this week. The above estimation was revealed from the shop owners association and the amount has been spent in shopping for Eid, along with conducting iftar, sahri, entertaining guest, providing salaries and bonuses and executing transportation cost. Based on a study the association said Tk of 1 lakh 70 thousand crore were added to the spending ahead of this Eid, which is little less than that of previous year.
In 2023, the size of the economy was Tk 1 l kah 87 crore, among which the money of jakat was of Tk 70 thousand 125 crore, money spent on clothing purchases was of Tk 34 thousand crore, for guset entertaining, sahri and iftar was Tk 36 thousand 210 crore, for transportation Tk 7 thousand 500 crore, for fitra 467 crore, for salaries and bonuses of the service holders Tk 1 thousand 45 crore.
According to the authorities concerned the extra money this year is added to the economy from some categories around Eid. This includes salaries and bonuses of 1.4 lakh government officials and employees, 7.5 lakh shop workers and another 5.5 lakh garment workers, which are going to the Eid economy. Apart from this, there is remittance money sent by expatriates. During Eid, expatriates send foreign currency to their relatives to cover extra expenses. This time, as Bengali New Year is close to Eid, the New Year bonus of government officials and employees has also been added. As cash is available, the shops are also crowded with customers. Still shop owners and businessmen feel that shopping is not happening as expected.
President of the Shop Owners Association Md Helaluddin told The Bangladesh Pratidin, “Ahead of this Eid, about Tk 2 lakh crore has been added to the economy. This is close to the last Eid spending but the volume of purchases was lower.”
With an example, this business leader revealed the amount of money the buyers had budgeted for shopping during Ramadan Eid last time. This time they were able to buy less things with that amount of budget as the price of the product was high.
Talking to some shop owners and businessmen in the capital, it is known that the sale of their products has decreased compared to last time. Arif, a salesman of a local brand at Mirpur-2, said, “The amount of Punjabi they sold this time is half of that of last time. The price is high but the budget is limited, due to which many have reduced their purchases.”
Traders also said as Eid and New Year are coming together, the shopping that was done on the occasion of Pahela Baisakh is not happening this time. This has also become a cause of loss for business shopkeepers. At different times, sales of Tk around 5 to 10 thousand crore are made across the country only on the occasion of New Year. In the past few days, it has been seen that the market in different areas of the capital has been visited by common people for shopping in the brand shops. From pajama, punjabi, saree, salwar-kameez to buying clothes, shoes, cosmetics and jewelry, buyers are now paying more attention to brand products. A section of the capital's upper and middle classes people flocked to Bashundhara Shopping Mall and Jamuna Future Park for shopping. Apart from this, there are various shopping malls in the areas like Mirpur, Dhanmondi, Mohammadpur, Mogbazar, Mouchak, Elephant Road, Newmarket, Gauchia, Tikatuli, along with various brand shops like Arong, Curious, Yolo, La Rive, Freeland, Anjans, Artisan, Sailor, Twelve, Gentle Park, Infinity shops, where the people rushed for shopping. Ahead of Eid, the buyers were seen visiting various shops and fashion houses in the capital's Elephant Road, Gauchia Market, Bashundhara City Shopping Mall, Bailey Road and Mouchak Market. However, the traders were not satisfied with this.
A shoe shopkeeper on Elephant Road said although there was a crowd in the middle of Ramadan, there was not much sales in the beginning and end. Vendors of several shopping malls including Eastern Plaza, Rapa Plaza, Genetic Plaza, Metro Shopping Mall, Orchard Point, Happy Arcade said that sales were not as expected. The sidewalk shops of the capital Dhaka are mainly located along Motijheel, Baitul Mukarram Mosque, Bangabandhu and Maulana Bhasani Stadium, Gulistan, Paltan, Farmgate, Dhaka College, Mirpur-10 and Newmarket-Elephant Road. Numerous shopkeepers sit on these sidewalks and sell their products throughout the year. However, before Eid, new shops have been seen who are sitting only with Eid-based products. In addition to Punjabi, pajama, shoes, sharee, lungi, children's clothes, perfume, perfume, soap, caps, Eid-related other products are also visible. In addition to shopping, online business (e-business) has also increased around Eid. Entering the social media sites, we saw advertisements with pictures of various products have been posted there.
(The report was published on print and online versions of The Bangladesh Pratidin on April 9 and rewritten in English by Lutful Hoque Khan)
