A team led by the Directorate of National Consumers' Right Protection (DNCRP) is set to visit the leading FMCG companies as prices of many personal-care items and toiletries witnessed 25-50% increase in recent months.
The team, comprising representatives of the DNCRP, Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC), Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Bangladesh (ICMAB) and others, will also visit the FMCG factories to analyze the reasons behind the price surge.
These were revealed at a view-exchange meeting of the DNCRP at its conference room with officials of FMCGs like Unilever, Square, Kallol Group and ACI.
DNCRP Director General A H M Safiquzzaman presided over the program.
Unilever chief financial officer Zahid Malita, Square head of operation Malik Sayeed, Kallol Group corporate sales manager S M Mohidul Hassan, ACI senior executive Md Polash Hossain, CAB representative Quazi Abdul Hannan, and ICMAB representative Mallik Intaqab Ahsan, also spoke, among others.
The directorate organized the meeting amid growing concern of the consumers over rising prices of soap, detergent, toothpaste, toilet cleaner and other homecare toiletries.
AHM Shafiquzzaman said although the DNCRP has no authority to fix the prices of toiletries items, concern of the consumers forced the agency to organize the meeting.
A technical team would be formed very soon, which would visit the factories of the FMCG companies.
Unilever's Zahid Malita said the prices of toiletries were revised upward following a tectonic rise in prices of their raw materials, like sulfuric acid, sodium sulfate, vegetable oil, and others.
He said the price of a half-kg packet of Rin detergent powder (a product of Unilever) was Tk60 in 2020, when its key raw material -- sulfuric acid -- price was Tk83 a kg.
In 2022, the same packet is being retailed at Tk90. But the cost of the same raw material is Tk190 per kg now, showing a 130% price surge since 2020.
Similarly, the prices of soap raw material -- vegetable oil -- and toothpaste raw material -- soda ash -- have increased notably in the world market.
He also claimed that the companies earlier cut the prices of toiletries following decline in their raw material costs, but could not exactly say when the prices were last reduced.
Malik Mohammad Saeed of Square Toiletries mentioned that the prices of these products were reduced once in 2015 due to decrease in the prices of raw materials.
He also said the prices of some raw materials recently started decreasing. But the high price of the US dollar during the same time could hardly help the companies to cut product prices.
The companies also claimed that although the prices of some raw materials declined in the global market, the customs authorities were asking them to pay duties in line with the previous rates.
They urged the government to minimize import duties, so that they could review the prices of toiletries to some extent.
According to the Bangladesh Cosmetics and Toiletries Manufacturers Association (BCTMA) and the Bangladesh Cosmetics and Toiletries Importers' Association (BCTIA), growth of the sector has been above 10% annually for the last two decades, while its annual turnover amounts to over Tk16,000 crore.