[🇧🇩] Domestic Trade

[Bilal9]

Super shops see super business growth​

Shafiqul Islam
Dhaka
Published: 27 Jan 2024, 00: 52

People purchasing from a super shop outlet in the capital's Shyamoli area on FridayZahidul Karim

Super shops have become quite popular in the cities as people can find all sorts of daily essentials under one roof. As a result, the super shop business, popularly known as retail business, is growing bigger. It has also boosted their profits. However, the growth of this sector has been affected by various issues, including high inflation rate and price hike, say the entrepreneurs.

Although the super shop business started in the country after 2000, it took more than decade to gain public acceptance. However, the trend of shopping from super shops has gained popularity among city dwellers over the last few years, especially during the pandemic. The popularity of super shops is growing further as consumers can buy all daily essentials from one place.

There is no exact account regarding the size of the daily commodity market in the country. According to the Bangladesh Super Shop Owners Association, the size of the retail market of the daily essentials in the country now stands at around USD 15 billion.
https://en.prothomalo.com/business/local/3rw4fafd6h
Super shops cover only 2 to 2.5 per cent of that, which was below 1.5 per cent three years earlier. The growth of super shop business has been around 25 per cent for the last two years, which could be 10 to 20 per cent more, hadn’t there been any pressure of inflation. The market of super shop business is expected to cross USD 1.9 billion by 2030, the owners say.

Although the number of customers hasn’t decreased that much, sales have declined. Those who used to spend Tk 2,000 at the super shops are now spending Tk 1,000

Kazi Ruhul Amin, chairman, Prince Bazar

Speaking to Prothom Alo, Super Market Owners Association general secretary Md Zakir Hossain said the super shop business has seen a huge boost in the last three or four years. Several companies made some good profits. As a result, the concept of super shops is gaining popularity even at an upazila level nowadays.

Number of super shops rising


Super shop entrepreneurs say the country is being urbanised rapidly. New well planned residential areas are being constructed in Purbachal, Keraniganj, Bosila, areas adjacent to the capital and divisional cities. Besides, newer economic zones, high-tech parks, EPZs and industrial areas are being established under various mega projects. And the demand for super shops is rising in these areas and surroundings. At the same time, there have been a lot of changes in consumer’s behaviour and lifestyle in terms of shopping leading to the growing demand for super shops.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, Kamruzzaman, director (distribution) of Pran RFL Group, the mother company of super shop chain Daily Shopping, said that consumers now want to do the daily shopping with comfort. Therefore, people are getting more and more interested in purchasing from super shops. As a result, the number of super shops is rising.

According to the super shop owners, there are more than 1,500 super shops in the country at the moment. Of them, 600 are outlets of chain super shops. The remaining super shops are doing business locally with one or two outlets.
https://en.prothomalo.com/business/local/11m64pr4bz
However, the number of super shops was only a few hundred even five years ago. Agora, Shwapno, Meena Bazar, Daily Shopping, Unimart, Almas, Prince Bazar and Daily Super Shop are a few of the top super shop chains in the country.

Customers busy buying daily essential at a super shop in the capitalZahidul Karim

Shwapno is leading the super shop chains in the country with 440 outlets across the country. In the 2022-23 fiscal, the super shop chain made a profit of Tk 130 million. Among the other companies, Daily Shopping runs 75 outlets, Meena Bazar runs 33, Agora 23, Amana Big Bazar 10, Unimart five and Price Bazar runs five outlets. Depending on the size of the supershops, some eight to 50 thousand or more types of products are available at the super shops in the county. Around 65 per cent of the transaction in these supermarkets is done in cash and the rest is done through cards or mobile financing services.
https://en.prothomalo.com/business/local/yyrsaf00kw

Impacts of inflation on sale​

The inflation rate was above 9 per cent for almost the entire 2023. Apart from food price hike, the inflation of non-food items was also quite high.

The traders say although the consumers of the super shops are not low income people, a large portion of them are under immense pressure due to the inflation.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, Prince Bazar chairman Kazi Ruhul Amin said, “Although the number of customers hasn’t decreased that much, sales have declined. Those who used to spend Tk 2,000 at the super shops are now spending Tk 1,000.”

Super shop chain Shwapno executive director Sabbir Hasan Nasir said, “In some cases, the buyers have curbed purchases by 10 to 20 per cent. Otherwise, we could make more profit.”

Apart from the inflation, the entrepreneurs are facing problems in opening letter of credit (LC) due to the rise in dollar price, leading to a fall in the overall growth of profit. Besides, the customers have to bear some four to five per cent VAT (value added tax) for purchasing from the super shops. As a result, many customers avoid super shops. So, the super shop owners demanded a more consistent VAT.

Meena Bazar chief operation officer (COO) Ahmed Shoyeb Iqbal said, “The super shops are now playing an effective role in meeting people's daily needs as well as controlling the monopoly prices of products. However, the market of super shop business will extend further if it gets equal privileges like the open markets.”

 

[Bilal9]

Banana fiber sari offers sustainable, biodegradable alternative in Bangladesh​

by Mohammad Al-Masum Molla on 20 October 2023

Banana fiber sari offers sustainable, biodegradable alternative in Bangladesh

In a remarkable fusion of tradition and innovation, a couple of Marma women and Manipuri men have taken the Bangladeshi fashion scene by storm with their unique creation: a sari woven entirely from banana fiber. While this may not be a unique concept in the global context, it marks an exciting...

news.mongabay.com

• The sari, a quintessential part of Bangladeshi culture and attire, is known for its vibrant colors and intricate designs.
• However, traditional sari production is often associated with resource-intensive processes that raise environmental concerns.
• A couple of Indigenous Marma and Manipuri communities in Bangladesh have taken t
• e Bangladeshi fashion scene by storm with their unique creation: a sari woven entirely from banana fiber, considered a sustainable and biodegradable alternative.

In a remarkable fusion of tradition and innovation, a couple of Marma women and Manipuri men have taken the Bangladeshi fashion scene by storm with their unique creation: a sari woven entirely from banana fiber.

While this may not be a unique concept in the global context, it marks an exciting shift in the fashion landscape of Bangladesh, bringing environmental consciousness to the forefront.

The sari, a quintessential part of Bangladeshi culture and attire, is known for its vibrant colors and intricate designs.

However, traditional sari production is often associated with resource-intensive processes that raise environmental concerns.

Banana fiber is a sustainable and biodegradable alternative that is garnering attention worldwide.

Hailing from an ethnic minority community in Marma, the talented Shaing Shaing U, a teacher at Bandarban University, is rewriting the fashion narrative in Bangladesh.

Shaing Shaing U (right) holding a newly finished banana fiber sari. Image by Mong Sing Hai.

Shaing has been working with fabrics for quite a long time, and the handloom was the subject of her post-graduate thesis while doing her master’s at a university in Australia.

She married Manipuri entrepreneur Guno Moni in 2006 and started working on Manipuri handicrafts in a market in Dhaka.

“We have been promoting the Manipuri handicrafts through our shop in Dhaka and did many experiments with Manipuri fabrics,” she told Mongabay over the phone.

But in December 2022, a call from then-Bandarban deputy commissioner Yasmin Parvin Tibriji opened a new door of discovery.

Yasmin at that time took the initiative of making various handicrafts using yarn made from banana plants.

Yasmin said that as a district administrator, she took various initiatives to improve the socioeconomic status of the people in the hilly region.

“From that desire, I thought of making yarn from the fiber of the banana plant but making saris from banana plant fiber was not so easy,” she said.

“I was asked whether I could make a file folder with banana fiber. I took seven days before coming up with any decision. I discussed it with my husband and after seeing the fiber, we found that it would be possible and we made some file folders,” she said.

Radhavati Devi, a skilled sari weaver from the Manipuri-populated Mahergao village of Kamalganj Upazila of Moulvibazar, weaving a sari made out of banana fiber. Image by Mintu Deshwara.

Seeing the success, Yasmin gave Shaing an order to make 350 file folders from banana fiber, but Shaing declined, as they would not be commercially viable.

“As I was working with the saris for quite a long time, I proposed to her [Yasmin] that she can try to make a sari out of [banana fiber] but [she needed] a handloom and some manpower. Yasmin gave the financial support,” Shaing said.

Shaing then consulted with her husband and brought Radhavati Devi, from the Manipuri-populated Mahergao village of Kamalganj Upazila of Moulvibazar, to make a sari out of banana plant fiber.

“People know me as a skilled sari weaver, but I never thought of making sari out of banana fiber. We used banana leaves and stems for our worship purposes. So, I took it as a religious activity. First, I made a small piece of cloth using fiber and then a sari, which took eight days,” the 65-year-old Radhavati said.

Yasmin said World Vision and two other organizations – GRAUS and Uddipan – helped the project.

Shaing said it requires almost a quarter-kilogram (about half a pound) of yarn to make a saree from a banana plant. “It would cost around 4,000 taka [$36]. But if technology is used and it can be produced commercially, the cost and time will be much less.”

Radhavati Devi checks a banana viscose thread for consistency before using it to make a sari. Image by Mintu Deshwara.

Banana plantations are abundant in Bangladesh, making banana plants an ideal source of sustainable fashion materials.

The process begins with selecting the finest banana plants, typically grown organically. The banana leaves are carefully processed to extract delicate fibers, then spun into threads. These threads, renowned for their strength and flexibility, are woven into intricate patterns on traditional handlooms.

Experts say the environmental benefits of banana fiber are huge and multifaceted, with banana fiber production requiring fewer resources than conventional textiles, such as cotton.

“It consumes less water, pesticides and synthetic chemicals, contributing to a reduced environmental footprint. Banana fiber sari will decompose naturally, addressing concerns about textile waste and pollution in landfills,” Saber Hossain Chowdhury, special envoy to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for climate change, told Mongabay.

Terming the initiative excellent, Chowdhury said his government wholeheartedly supported this initiative and would extend cooperation if entrepreneurs come forward seeking any assistance.

“From a sustainability point of view, it has a huge appeal in the apparel industry, and it is an example of a nature-based solution, which we have been advocating in the global forum for quite a long time,” Chowdhury added.

He also said that clothes made out of banana viscose have two other advantages — one is to look and feel like silk products and the other is the high level of affordability.

An Indigenous weaver making a sari with banana fibre using a traditional handloom machine. Image by Mong Sing Hai.

Experts said such an initiative empowers local farmers who can generate additional income from their banana plants’ fibers.

“The idea of making yarn from the discarded banana plants is innovative and environment-friendly. It will reduce the burden on the environment, as the dying process pollutes the environment badly in most cases,” said Pavel Partha, director of Bangladesh Resource Center for Indigenous Knowledge (BARCIK) and a biodiversity and ecology researcher.

He, however, said that at the same time, the impact of a sari made out of banana viscose needs to be considered, as it has environmental, ecological, social, cultural and economic aspects.

“It can flourish as a handicraft item, but it cannot be the alternative to cotton. Our cotton market is mainly based on artificial plastic-based cotton, and we have to spend a lot of money to import that cotton. So to reduce the dependency, we have to give importance to natural fibers,” he said, adding that importance should be given to other natural viscose.

Banner image: Radhavato Devi training an Indigenous woman to make sari with banana fiber. Image by Mintu Deshwara.

 

[Bilal9]

Qatar, US sign deal to supply LNG to Bangladesh​

The deal is the latest in a series state-owned QatarEnergy has with European and Asian partners tied to its massive North Field expansion project​

Representational image. Photo: Reuters

QatarEnergy and US-based Excelerate Energy signed an agreement on Monday to supply 1 million metric tonnes per year (mtpa) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Bangladesh for 15 years from January 2026.

The deal is the latest in a series state-owned QatarEnergy has with European and Asian partners tied to its massive North Field expansion project, which is expected to lift Qatar's LNG production to 126 mtpa by 2027 from 77 mtpa now.

Qatar, among the world's top LNG exporters, is already the largest supplier of LNG to Bangladesh.

It views natural gas as a transition fuel that will be needed far into the future.

"This new agreement will further strengthen our relationship with Excelerate while also supporting the energy requirements of the People's Republic of Bangladesh and its stride towards greater economic development," QatarEnergy Chief Executive Saad al-Kaabi said in the statement.

Al-Kaabi told Reuters last month QatarEnergy expected to agree long-term LNG supply deals in Asia and Europe, with several imminent.

Excelerate will buy 850,000 mtpa of LNG in 2026 and 2027, then 1 mtpa from 2028 to 2040, QatarEnergy said. It will be shipped to floating storage and regasification units in Bangladesh.

Daniel Bustos, Excelerate Energy's executive vice president and chief commercial officer, said in September the company was in advanced talks to supply long-term LNG to Bangladesh.