Businesses in the country are not faring well and are just managing to get by for a crisis of gas and electricity at factories and US dollar shortages, according to the industry people.

"Our business is not doing well. There is a crisis of gas and electricity at factories. In addition, their prices are rising," said Mohammad Ali Khokon, president of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association.

The interest rate on bank loans is more than 13 percent whereas it was of a single digit seven months ago. Moreover, there is a shortage of US dollars, he said.

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Khokon was addressing the 44th meeting of a Consultative Committee of the National Board of Revenue (NBR), jointly organised with the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Dhaka yesterday.

Good businesspeople are going through very difficult times and their industries are just managing to get by, he said.

They should not be confused with wilful loan defaulters, who should be identified and prosecuted, he added.

The dollar and interest issues were echoed by Habib Ullah Dawn, president of the Bangladesh Reconditioned Vehicles Importers and Dealers Association.

The current challenges are over reining in inflation, increasing foreign exchange reserves, remittance inflows, expanding and diversifying exports and their destinations, and developing human resources, said FBCCI President Mahbubul Alam.

The government needs to lower the interest rate, bring about reforms in the financial and banking sectors and ensure coordination between monetary and fiscal policies, strengthen trade facilitation, and increase the tax-GDP ratio for overall economic stability, he said.

The government is working relentlessly with the private sector to develop trade and economy and will seriously take their proposals into consideration for the next national budget, said Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali.

Several meetings have already been held with different business sectors and the NBR is working to forward logical proposals for the formulation of the upcoming budget, said NBR Chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem.

Grievances will be resolved through discussions, he added.