Technology products become 10% costlier

The prices of electronic devices, such as computers, laptops, printers, scanners, mobile phones as well as accessories, have increased by at least 10 per cent in the country’s retail markets following the appreciation of the US dollar against the taka.

On Wednesday, one dollar was equivalent to Tk 89, which was Tk 86.667 on April 30. It rose over the past few days and pushed up the import cost of nearly all products. Tech products are among the ones bearing most of the brunt of the situation.

The increased prices have also reduced the sale of the tech products over the last 15-20 days even though there are adequate imports, according to industry insiders and traders.

“The prices of laptops and other equipment have gone up more than 5 per cent while prices of other devices like scanner and printer went up 10-12 per cent. Overall, tech-product prices have increased 10 per cent,” Subrata Sarkar, president of Bangladesh Computer Society (BCS), an association of ICT businesses and traders, told The Business Post.

Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, computer sales had increased at a good rate and continued till last year. The sales in the first four months of 2022 were even 1.5 times higher than the same period last year, he said.

But over the past three weeks, the sales have gone down as the bestselling electronic items costing Tk 45,000-65,000 have become Tk 3,000-5,000 costlier — forcing customers of that budget range to refrain from making new purchases, said Subrata.

This correspondent found the situation to be true while talking to customers and traders during visits to several markets, including BCS Computer City at IDB Bhaban, in the city.

Laptop sales down

Along with sales, the number of customers at the markets has also gone down. Those who are there expressed anger over the rising prices of computer components and other equipment.

Subrata Sarkar also confirmed that there was no crisis in the product supply chain. “There are lots of products in the market. That’s not the issue.”

“The rise in dollar rate has been a global issue, impacting the IT industry across the world. But there are some other issues such as shipment costs and higher microchips prices that are also pushing up product prices,” he said.

He also said that the demand for laptops in the country is around 35,000-40,000 every month, but laptop sales are down to 20,000-25,000 per month at the moment.

Niju Khan went to BCS Computer City to buy a laptop on Monday. But she could not buy the device of her choice after the vendor said the price went up by Tk 4,000.

“One of my brothers bought this same laptop a month ago at Tk 48,500. Now the price is Tk 52,500. They have even stopped giving the discount mentioned on their website,” said the frustrated college student. “Now I am looking for a low configuration laptop that is in my budget.”

One of the salesmen at that shop said the owner asked them to sell the products at an increased rate.

Phone prices up too

Meanwhile, the prices of feature phones and smartphones in the local markets have also increased by 9-10 per cent because of the rising import costs.

Mohammed Mesbah Uddin, joint secretary of Bangladesh Mobile Phone Importers Association (BMPIA), said, “Mobile phone prices, in general, have gone up by 9 per cent. In some cases, it has gone over 10 per cent or more.”

“The prices of the phones assembled in Bangladesh have increased since we have to import most of the necessary parts at a higher cost nowadays. We have no other way but to raise the prices,” he added.

Mesbah said that some traders are still selling phones at low prices and trying to maintain their sales volume but it will not last long.

“Bangladesh depends on imports. This is price hike is normal because the rise in the dollar rate has promptly impacted the technology product prices.

“The prices will hopefully come down soon,” he hoped.