CCCI president urges BB governor to control USD appreciation against taka

Chattogram Chamber of Commerce & Industry (CCCI) President Mahbubul Alam has called on Bangladesh Bank Governor Fazle Kabir to control the appreciation of US dollar against taka for the sake of the country's economy. 

He made the call in a letter on Thursday.

In the letter, the CCCI president said, "Recently, the US dollar is appreciating against the taka in the money market. On 18 October 17, one USD was sold at Tk86.20 in the inter-bank exchange market. On the other hand, the dollar has been sold in the open market at a cash price of up to Tk89.50. It is apprehended that the price will go up further in the future."

Mahbubul Alam said, "In line with the growing economic growth of Bangladesh, imports of all kinds of products including industrial raw materials and capital equipment are increasing. Corona situation is gradually becoming normal in different countries of the world including European countries and America. In Bangladesh also, production has resumed in full swing after the government instructed to open factories amid an improving pandemic situation. In this context, the sudden rise in the value of the dollar against the taka will cause financial losses to traders and entrepreneurs associated with importing consumer goods, capital equipment and industrial raw materials. Ultimately, the consumer will to bear the brunt."

"Before the coronavirus pandemic, the value of dollar rose to Tk84.95 in February 2020, which was considered the strongest position of the dollar at that time. If the dollar appreciates again this year, it will hamper the process of recovering the economy damaged by the pandemic. Therefore, I make a special request to the governor of Bangladesh Bank to take urgent steps to fix the value of the dollar against the taka at a reasonable level," said the CCCI president.