MD NAZRUL ISLAM, Chattogram

Fuel sales by Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) have slightly decreased, apparently for the slowdown in the economy and slack demand for the transportation of goods on roads and waterways.

In the first eight months of the current fiscal year 2024-25, fuel sales by the BPC stood at 44.45 lakh tonnes.

Year-on-year data on BPC’s sales specifically for these eight months is not available.

However, the BPC sold 67.61 lakh tonnes in the whole of fiscal year 2023-24. That means, its average monthly sales during that time stood at 5.63 lakh tonnes.

In contrast, the average monthly sale of the current fiscal year was lower at around 5.55 lakh tonnes.

The BPC officials said they initially projected a rise in oil sales to 74.2 lakh tonnes in the current fiscal year 2024-25. With only four months remaining, the BPC expects that 22 lakh tonnes of fuel might be needed.

Thus, it projects that the BPC’s total fuel sales are likely to reach 66 lakh tonnes in the current fiscal year, ending in the coming June.

The BPC officials said sales of petroleum by the sole importer and marketer of petroleum in Bangladesh dropped primarily in July, when deadly political turmoil crippled transport movement, industrial activity, and business operations.

The sluggishness in business persisted over the following couple of months at a time when the economy was facing headwinds amid high inflation and slowing imports due to the US dollar crisis.

This has caused a reduction in demand for the transportation of goods, leading to a fall in fuel consumption in maritime and road transport.

“The demand for fuel will be less than the initial projection we made at the beginning of the fiscal year. So, we have prepared the import plan in view of the demand,” said BPC Chairman Md Amin Ul Ahsan.

The BPC’s data show that diesel is the main fuel it sells, accounting for over 60 percent of its sales in FY24, followed by furnace oil used in power plants and aviation.

The state corporation imports both refined and crude petroleum.

In the past eight months, it imported 28.86 lakh tonnes of various types of refined fuel, of which 70 percent was diesel and 12 percent was furnace oil.

In addition, Bangladesh also produces fuel from domestic gas fields and private refineries.

Choudhury Zafar Ahmed, general secretary of the Inter-district Truck and Covered Van Owners’ Association, said many factories suffered due to political turmoil in July and the subsequent changeover in early August.

“Many factory owners have faced lawsuits and attacks, forcing them to shut down their factories. As a result, goods transportation has decreased,” he said.

Parvez Ahmed, vice president of Inland Vessel Owners Association Chattogram, told The Daily Star that import and export trade in the country had been disrupted due to the dollar crisis at the end of the previous government’s term.

As a result, cargo transportation had slightly decreased at the beginning of the current fiscal year. However, everything was now back to normal, he said.