Coronavirus, that has already emerged as a threat to the global supply chain is likely to affect the country’s overall economy in many ways. Experts said, the outbreak of the virus in China has dealt a heavy blow to the global supply chain. Like many other countries, Bangladesh is also going to face many big challenges in trade and investment.
Talking to the media, commerce minister Tipu Munshi, on Sunday apprehended that the country’s economic growth would be affected because of the disruption in imports from coronavirus-struck China. “We import lots of things from China, including raw materials for the readymade garment sector,” he said, adding, Bangladesh imported from China products worth $13.63 billion, or 26.1 percent of the total $52.1 billion imports, in 2018–19 ending in June last.
To fight the coronavirus outbreak, experts suggested immediate search for alternative sources of raw materials among other countries. They said that being an overcrowded nation; Bangladesh has constrained fiscal resources and weak health systems to tackle the impact of the virus outbreak face to face. Sources said, within the next few days, FBCCI is scheduled to submit an assessment report to the commerce ministry, on the possible impact of corona virus on the country’s trade and commerce.
It is learnt that the apex trade-body, FBCCI, has sought opinions from its member associations regarding the possible impact of Coronavirus outbreak on the country's trade and economy. FBCCI asked all its members to submit their assessment by Tuesday (February 12) to help the government take necessary measures to cope with any untoward situation, said sources.
when contacted, World Bank’s former lead economist, Dr Zahid Hussain, told Bangladesh Post, “Bangladesh is likely to face huge economic impact as it is closely linked to China either through trade and investment, or movement of people.” “The coronavirus outbreak is already having significant economic impacts globally, he said while adding, “Bangladesh should diversify export partners and funding sources beyond China to avoid negative impact.”
Zahid informed, “The of most of the country’s industrial raw materials and capital machinery is imported from China, and disruption of travel between the two countries would affect supply of raw materials to the export sector, which has been showing falling trend for the last several months.” “Many consumer products, both cheap and expensive, are imported from China; and a prolonged outbreak would surely have a negative impact on the supply of these consumer products to the local market,” he mentioned.
Thus, it will be a mistake to underestimate the impact of disrupted imports of intermediate inputs and capital machinery on production, trade and investment in Bangladesh, he added. Notable, two of the country’s mega projects, Padma Bridge and Payra power plant, are being implemented under Chinese supervision.
Hence, experts said, these projects would be affected as Chinese workers would be forced to stay away from work for a longer period. Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI) president Sheikh Fazle Fahim also apprehended that the overall supply chain of the country would be affected.
Talking to Bangladesh Post, he said, “Those who have opened LCs would not get their raw materials in time as their shipments would be delayed.” He said, “We are going to ask for cooperation both from banks and the government. We would request the government not to identify businessmen by any terms during the crisis period.”
He also stressed the need for creating new sources of raw materials for the country’s industry. Talking about the possible impact of coronavirus on people’s health, experts said the country must stay alert and do whatever it takes to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
They said like many other countries, Bangladesh must seriously supervise trade and other dealings with China. Dr Zahid Hussain said the government should give the topmost priority to protection of public health. A zero-tolerance on the risk of exposure to the virus is the safest option, he said, adding that this requires vigorous implementation of health-related policies and information campaigns to prevent the spread of the virus.
“Although Bangladesh is not as vulnerable as Vietnam and Sri Lanka, it is much more exposed to coronavirus than it was to SARS virus in 2003,” he added. Former chief scientific officer at the government’s disease control centre Mushtuq Husain said, “We must be on maximum alert. And the people should take it seriously. A matter cannot be neglected. We must prepare ourselves assuming that the virus is going to hit Bangladesh within a month.”
On the other hand, Meerjady Sabrina Flora, a director at the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research or IEDCR, said Bangladesh has no reason to panic. But it’s necessary to stay prepared as many countries have reported coronavirus cases. She informed that authorities in local hospitals have already prepared separate wards, so that any infected patient can be quarantined immediately after detection.
