Farmers across Khansama upazila in Dinajpur are actively transplanting aman rice after enduring persistent rain and flooding, according to a report published on August 8. Seedlings are being lifted from nursery beds and planted in muddy fields in Alokjhari, Bhabki, Bherbheri, Goaldihi, Angarpara, Khamarpara and nearby areas. Many farmers are working with family members to complete cultivation within the scheduled period.

The Department of Agricultural Extension has set a target of cultivating transplanted aman rice on 13,760 hectares in Khansama this season. Transplanting has already been completed on 11,950 hectares, while work on the remaining land is progressing rapidly. Despite a shortage of labourers, farmers have continued planting because they expect timely transplantation to support a satisfactory yield.

Farmer Jabed Ali said timely rainfall reduced irrigation costs and kept soil moisture adequate, although higher fertilizer and labour costs remain a concern. Under an incentive programme, 3,500 farmers received five kilograms of rice seed, 10 kilograms of DAP fertilizer and 10 kilograms of MOP fertilizer free of charge. Agriculture officer Yasmin Akhtar said the upazila expects about 71,697 tonnes of aman rice if weather conditions remain favourable.

Severe gas and power shortages have nearly halted operations at hundreds of textile, dyeing, ceramic and other medium-to-heavy factories, as well as CNG stations, in Bangladesh's Narsingdi industrial area. The report, published on August 8, 2026, attributes the prolonged energy shortage to an accident at the LNG terminal in Maheshkhali, leaving pipeline gas pressure too low for production.

Narsingdi has more than 3,000 textile, dyeing and spinning mills and supplies a large share of the country's cloth demand. Business leaders said nearly 80 percent of mills in the Narsingdi and Madhabdi areas have shut down. Local industrial owners and business representatives estimated average daily losses across the industrial zone at Tk400 crore to Tk500 crore as dyeing, printing, textile and spinning output has become almost fully stalled.

Anisur Rahman Bhuiyan of Bhuiyan Textile and Calender Mills said his factory has been almost closed for two weeks, receiving only one to two PSI of gas pressure against a minimum requirement of 10 PSI. Entrepreneurs said halted production and sales have made monthly wage payments difficult. BTMA spokesperson Abdullah Al Mamun warned that continued energy shortages could trigger public anger.

Guava growers in Nesarabad, Pirojpur, say they are losing crores of taka worth of produce each year because there is no cold storage facility. The floating guava market, located near the canal confluence along the Nesarabad and Jhalakathi border, is busy during the monsoon season, particularly from July to September, drawing domestic and foreign visitors. Farmers say low prices, a lack of business-friendly conditions and the halt in exports have reduced their profits.

Around 4,000 guava growers operate in nearly 24 villages across areas bordering Nesarabad, Banaripara and Jhalakathi. According to the Barishal divisional agriculture office, 3,220 guava orchards cover 878 hectares in 23 villages of three upazilas, with about 16,000 workers involved from orchard care to fruit sales. Growers describe guava cultivation as their main source of income but say maintenance costs are high and have sought bank loans on easy terms.

Farmer Binoy Haldar said several crores of taka worth of guavas spoil annually without cold storage. Exports stopped in 2020 amid storage constraints, alleged non-cooperation from the agriculture department, the effects of Covid-19 and other challenges. Upazila agriculture officer Mahafuzur Rahman said he would inform senior officials about constructing a government cold storage facility.

Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Afroza Khanom said Natore will be developed into a tourist hub with a world-class tourism system. She made the remarks after visiting Uttara Ganabhaban on Friday afternoon, August 7. The minister said the district’s tourism potential would be used to build facilities for visitors and strengthen Natore’s profile as a destination.

Khanom cited Uttara Ganabhaban, Rajbari, Halti Beel and Chalan Beel as sites demonstrating Natore’s substantial tourism potential. She said accommodation and tourism facilities have not developed sufficiently in the area, while many people still do not know detailed information about Natore. She pledged improvements to necessary infrastructure and transport links, along with facilities for tourists’ residence and stays.

Member of Parliament and parliamentary whip Advocate M Ruhul Quddus Talukdar Dulu, District Commissioner Asma Shaheen and Additional Superintendent of Police Mohammad Ifte Khayer Alam were among officials present during the visit. After later visiting Halti Beel, Dulu told a local public meeting that thousands of tourists visit Natore from across the country each year, but inadequate lodging and dining arrangements have discouraged many visitors.

About Tk60 lakh in unspent funds from a 10-kilometre canal excavation project in Guthia ইউনিয়ন of Uzirpur upazila, Barishal, has been returned to the government treasury. The project was completed under the overall supervision of Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Ali Suja, according to a report published on August 7, 2026.

The government had allocated Tk2.57 crore for the canal excavation, the upazila administration said. The work was implemented by Upazila Project Implementation Officer Md Mosharraf Hossain under Suja’s supervision. After the work was completed and accounts were settled, approximately Tk60 lakh remained unspent and was deposited in the treasury.

Suja said the allocation represented taxpayers’ money and that proper use and preservation of such funds were a moral duty for public officials. He said the returned money could be used by the government for other development work. Local informed groups described the return of unspent funds, following completion of the specified work, as a positive example of sound public financial management and accountability.

Millions of camels now roam remote desert and grassland areas of Australia, far from their original Arab desert habitat. British colonizers brought camels to Australia for transport in the 19th century, but many were released when vehicles reduced their usefulness. Australia’s camel population is estimated at between 300,000 and one million, according to the report.

Many of the animals have become feral, and authorities say they create problems in desert areas. They compete with livestock for food, damage fences, contaminate water sources and harm cultural sites of Indigenous communities. At the same time, trained and domesticated camels have created a limited export market, with farmers selling camel milk and sometimes exporting live animals.

So far in 2026, Australia has exported 68 camels to Malaysia and Indonesia. Trade data showed Australian camel meat exports exceeded $3.9 million in 2024. Warwick Hill, owner of Humpalicious farm in Robe, South Australia, sells camel milk for 20 Australian dollars per litre but says high labour costs and relatively low milk output keep prices high. The annual Marree Camel Cup is held in the remote town of Marree, about 600 kilometres north of Adelaide.

Several Chinese and Indian oil refineries are seeking vessels to transport discounted Iraqi crude through the Strait of Hormuz from Iraq’s Basra Oil Terminal, according to multiple shipping-industry sources cited by Reuters. The effort was reported this week, but no vessel charter agreement has yet been finalized because of security risks in the strait.

The sources said Iraq’s state oil marketing company SOMO is offering discounts of up to about $30 per barrel on Basra Heavy and Basra Medium crude for August delivery. The large price reductions are driving refinery interest in purchasing the Iraqi oil.

Shipowners are reluctant to send vessels through the Strait of Hormuz because of concerns about security conditions. Kpler data showed that only six crude oil tankers exited the strait this week, while 21 vessels entered it, most using Iranian waterways. Iran closed the strait when the US-Israel war began on February 28. Before that closure, an average of 130 to 140 ships used the important sea route each day.

Bangladesh received $602 million in remittances during the first five days of August in fiscal year 2026-27, according to the latest updated data from Bangladesh Bank. The amount was 83.7 percent higher than remittance inflows recorded during the same period of the previous fiscal year. The report said the upward trend in expatriate income continued into August, following the first month of the fiscal year.

Expatriates sent $196 million to the country on August 4 and 5 alone. From July 1, the start of the current fiscal year, through August 5, total remittance inflows reached $3.461 billion. During the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year, the amount was $2.806 billion.

Total remittance inflows up to August 5 in fiscal year 2026-27 rose by 23.3 percent year on year. Bangladesh Bank said the continued tendency to send expatriate income through formal banking channels is strengthening the country’s foreign currency inflow. According to the central bank’s data, this is playing a positive role in foreign exchange reserves and the broader macroeconomy.

Bangladesh Bank will appoint administrators on Sunday as it moves to close five weak non-bank financial institutions, according to sources cited by Amar Desh. The government has already given final approval for the closures. The institutions are Peoples Leasing and Financial Services, International Leasing and Financial Services, Aviva Finance, FAS Finance and Investment, and Fareast Finance and Investment. Their existing boards will be suspended and managing directors’ contracts cancelled when administrators are appointed.

Administrators are initially expected at four institutions, excluding Peoples Leasing because of pending litigation and the absence of a court order. A Bangladesh Bank spokesperson, Arif Hossain Khan, said the closure process was under way and administrators would be appointed soon. At the end of last December, non-performing loan ratios at the five institutions ranged from 93 percent to nearly 100 percent.

The five institutions hold total deposits of Tk16,076 crore, including about Tk2,700 crore in individual deposits. Individual depositors are to receive priority repayment of up to Tk10 lakh. Four other institutions have been given three months to recover; if they fail, they will automatically enter the resolution process.

Bangladesh’s state-owned Jamuna Fertilizer Factory in Jamalpur has remained closed since January 15, 2024, after gas shortages were cited as the reason for suspending production. It had not restarted by August 5, 2026. Factory-related officials say production could have continued at about 1,200 metric tons of urea a day even with limited gas supplies if the required pressure had been ensured, while the shutdown has forced imports.

According to sources cited in the report, the plant could have produced about 36,000 metric tons of urea monthly. Imported urea now costs about Tk88,000 per ton, requiring monthly imports worth Tk316.8 crore, compared with an estimated domestic production cost of Tk79.2 crore for the same volume. The report estimates the additional spending over more than two and a half years at about Tk7,365.6 crore.

Factory officials say the plant needs gas pressure of only 42 to 43 PSI and that supplies to some lower-priority industries could have been adjusted. Bangladesh Fertilizer Association representatives said the factory’s fertilizer is popular with farmers and that its closure increases market pressure and import dependence. General Manager Fazlul Haque said regular gas supply could significantly reduce reliance on fertilizer imports.

Bangladesh’s apparel exports to the United States declined in the first six months of the year, but the drop was smaller than for China and India, according to a Thursday report by the US Department of Commerce’s Office of Textiles and Apparel, or OTEXA. The United States is Bangladesh’s largest single-country garment market, receiving about 20 percent of the country’s total apparel exports.

US apparel imports fell 8.04 percent year on year to $35.09 billion from January through June, amid higher tariffs and pressure on global demand. Imports from Bangladesh declined 5.75 percent to $4.01 billion. In contrast, imports from China dropped 37.69 percent and imports from India fell 25.27 percent. Bangladesh’s apparel imports rose 5.74 percent year on year in June alone, reaching $763.57 million.

By volume, US apparel imports from Bangladesh fell 3.69 percent, compared with declines of 26.30 percent for China and 22.74 percent for India. Bangladesh’s average unit price declined 2.15 percent, the same decrease recorded for Vietnam. The price decline was close to Pakistan’s but lower than the declines reported for China and India.

Bangladesh will begin sending new workers to Malaysia through BOESL in the final week of August, Mahdi Amin said at a meeting with journalists at the Bangladesh High Commission in Kuala Lumpur. The announcement was reported on August 6, 2026, and concerns the reopening of worker recruitment to Malaysia.

Amin addressed the press as the prime minister’s representative in the presence of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury, who was visiting Malaysia. Amin is identified as the minister’s spokesperson and an adviser to the prime minister.

He said senior-level discussions between the two countries had been positive and productive, aimed at reopening the previously closed labor market and swiftly completing arrangements for transparent, low-cost worker recruitment. The government is committed to keeping the labor market free of syndicates and transparent so ordinary workers can travel safely to Malaysia at lower cost, he said.

The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry administrator Md Fazlul Haque welcomed the successful signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, or CEPA, between Bangladesh and South Korea. In a Thursday press release, he said the agreement would expand business and trade between the two countries and strengthen their economic relationship. He also congratulated the commerce minister and relevant officials for completing the agreement quickly and successfully.

According to the FBCCI administrator, bilateral import-export trade between Bangladesh and Korea stands at $1.39 billion. Bangladesh imports goods worth $903 million from Korea and exports goods worth $492 million, leaving Bangladesh with an estimated trade deficit of about $411 million.

Haque said nearly 97 percent of Bangladeshi products, or 8,428 items, would be able to enter Korea's developed market duty-free under the agreement. He expressed hope that exports of garments and other products would rise substantially and help Bangladesh address its post-LDC graduation situation. He also cited opportunities for leather goods, footwear, pharmaceuticals and agricultural products, alongside increased technical cooperation. South Korea imports about $12 billion in garments annually, with only 3 percent currently sourced from Bangladesh, he said.

Turkey’s olive oil exporters have raised concerns that possible US taxes and trade barriers could create new challenges for the country’s exports in international markets. They called for swift action, warning that olives, described by Turkish farmers as “green gold,” are a valuable agricultural product and a key part of the sector.

Industry businesses said additional tariffs or taxes in the US market could raise the price of Turkish olive oil and weaken its position in international competition. The United States is one of the important markets for Turkey’s olive oil, meaning such a decision could place significant pressure on exporters.

Exporters said the industry involves not only large companies but also thousands of farmers and small producers, so barriers in export markets could affect the broader production system. Turkey is among the world’s important olive and olive oil producing countries and has been trying to expand export markets in recent years. Exporters described maintaining access to the US market as strategically important and urged rapid diplomatic and commercial initiatives to address potential tax barriers.

Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) said the ongoing 2026-27 budget centers on easing government controls on businesses and adopting investment-friendly policies. The measures were outlined on Thursday at a briefing titled “Investment Related Budget Outcome for Fiscal Year 2027-27” at BIDA’s conference room in Investment Bhaban, Agargaon, Dhaka. Prime Minister’s adviser Rehan Asif Asad attended as chief guest, while BIDA Executive Chairman Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun chaired the event.

BIDA said businesses can be started within 14 days through a single-window system, with automatic approval if service-level agreement deadlines are exceeded. The budget identifies tax policy as a tool to support an investment-production-employment cycle and prioritizes export diversification, local value chains, renewable energy and technology use. Ten new export sectors, including motorcycles, speedboats and handicrafts, can import duty-free raw materials through bank guarantees without bond licences.

The budget removes turnover tax for startup sandboxes and provides a Tk500 crore startup fund. Import tax on electric vehicles priced below $25,000 has been reduced from 94 percent to 64 percent, while charging stations receive full duty exemptions. BIDA also cited duty-free solar components, zero income tax for solar-power businesses, lower advance income tax on cotton imports, and customs-duty exemptions for specified pharmaceutical raw materials.