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Bangladeshis have thronged shops days ahead of `Eid Al-Fitr to buy favorite trousers, shirts, cosmetics, home appliances and furniture |
DHAKA — Booming sales during `Eid Al-Fitr, which crowns the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, are credited for giving a boost to Bangladesh's national economy.
"`Eid purchasing accelerates our economy," professor Abu Ahmad, the former chairman of Dhaka University's Economics Department, told IslamOnline.net.
He said that sales usually rise by 50 percent during `Eids, referring to the two major festivals of `Eid Al-Fitr and `Eid Al-Adha.
"Consumer brand items sales rise up by 50 percent during the two `Eids in Bangladesh."
Bangladeshis have thronged shops days ahead of `Eid Al-Fitr, which started in the Asian Muslim country on Sunday, October 14, to buy favorite trousers, shirts, cosmetics, home appliances and furniture.
Economists estimate that millions of dollars are being transacted through `Eid shopping.
"Total production of the country has increased three months before `Eid," said professor Ahmad Abdul Kader of Dharul Ahsan University.
"This is a positive sign of Bangladesh economy."
The Bangladeshi economy is the 31th largest economy in the world as measured by purchasing power parity (PPP).
The country's industrial sector has made significant strides since its independence from Pakistan in 1971.
But the GDP per capita has scaled down in recent years.
Last month, the Asian Development Bank estimated Bangladesh's growth would slow to 6.5 percent in 2007 from 6.7 percent last year.
Blessing
Professor Sharif Hossain said the thriving sales during Ramadan and `Eid help get down the towering unemployment rates in the Muslim country.
"This positive phenomena signals the better effect to the national economy," said Hossain, the General Secretary of Islamic Economic Research Bureau.
Businessman Ali Nurzzaman sees `Eid a blessing for the economy.
"Fifty percent of the wholesale consumer items have been accomplished in 3 months before `Eid," he said.
M. Ahsanullah, trader, agrees, saying sales have went up between 5-6 percent during Ramadan and `Eid.
Bangladeshis, like many Muslims around the world, race to buy near clothes for `Eid.
"We have purchased readymade garments for children and other family members," Tahmina Akhter, 45, told IOL while picking up favorite goods.
The government pays a one-month salary for civil servants as `Eid bonus, encouraging people to buy more.
"I bought a traditional apparels (locally known as ‘shari’) and three pieces at the cost of 100 dollars," said Tania Tahziba, a housewife.
"I have bought a couple of trousers for my children on the occasion of `Eid," added Parul, a maid servant.
Bangladesh is the world's third-largest Muslim majority country with a population of some 148 million.
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