Frequent price hikes continued to weigh in on the local economy as local manufacturing growth hovered below 4% year-on-year in July, the first month of FY23.
This monthly growth stands far below the last mark as it grew over 15% in the whole of the past FY22.
The high-frequency data depict the domestic consumption slowdown, while the external demand was up as apparel and textiles grew despite a global crunch, induced by the corona pandemic and the Ukraine.
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics or BBS prepares the index of medium-and large-scale manufacturing industries on a monthly basis, which contributes much to the country's economy.
The data, released last week, show that the growth in the industrial sector was just 3.38% in July over the same month a year earlier.
The growth slowed across a spectrum of the manufacturing sector, covering food, manufacture of leather and related products, of wood and wood products, and cork, fabricated metal products except for machinery, electrical equipment, and the manufacture of transport equipment.
The leather manufactures recorded the slowest growth at 43% in July last over the corresponding period of last FY.
The growth in manufacture of transport equipment was over 41%, fabricated metal products except machinery over 27% and the manufacturing of food products 20%.
However, the manufacture of beverages, textiles, wearing apparel, paper and paper products, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment, basic metals, and manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers, and semi-trailers registered growth.
The manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers, and semi-trailers recorded the highest growth at 285.5% followed by the manufacture of furniture.
The other top growing industrial sectors were the manufacture of beverages (24%), the manufacture of wearing apparel (22%), paper and paper products (nearly 17%), and the manufacture of basic metals (nearly 11%.)
Domestic demand for consumer goods got dampened by price rises disproportionate to the common man's purchasing capacity.
Apart from the global phenomenon of exponential inflation, many economists and analysts attribute the domestic dearth to price fixing by certain syndicates.