Rod prices increase again

Ibrahim Khalil Jewel: The price of rod, the main building materials, has started rising once again. Last week, the price of a ton of rod increased from Tk2,000 to Tk 3,000.
Earlier, in November last year, the rod reached the highest price in the history of the country’s market. Then a ton of rod of good quality or above 60 grade goes up to Tk81,000 at retail level.
After touching the highest price in history, the price of rod started falling in December. It has come down from Tk 81,000 to Tk 76,000 earlier this year.
Earlier, during the One-Eleven (November 11, 2008 violence spread across the country), the price of a ton of rod rose to a maximum of Tk 80,000.
Traders say the reason for the rise in rod prices is the sudden rise in scrap prices for raw materials in the international market. Within a week the price of scrap has gone up by over Tk 2,000. At the same time the demand for rods has also increased a bit. All in all, the price of rod has gone up.
According to the information given by the retailers, now a ton of good quality or 60-grade one-ton rod is being sold at Tk73,000 to Tk78,000, which was between Tk71,000 and Tk 78,000 a week ago.
Meanwhile, according to the government-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), 60-grade rods are now being sold at 18.43 percent more than last year. And the price of 40 grade rod has increased by 10.51 percent compared to last year.
Sanjay Chowdhury, a businessman from Old Dhaka, told about the price of the rod. Yet it is the highest price of rod in the history of the country. After that the price of rod came down to Tk 7-8 thousand. But for a week the price of rod has been rising again. The rod that I sold a few days ago for Tk 78,000, now it has to be sold for Tk 80 thousand.
“If our idea is not something unusual up front, the price of rods will go up further,” he said. Because the construction work is more in February-March every year. So, the demand for rods is also high at this time. In the meantime, the demand for rods has started to increase. Demand for this specialty has grown significantly as a result of recent corporate scandals. In that case we will not be surprised if the price of rod becomes Tk 82-83 thousand.
Aziz Ahmed, chairman of Kadamtali Steel Mills Pvt Ltd (KSML), told that the rod chemicals had to be imported from abroad. Within a week the price of raw material scrap of rod has gone up a lot. In the last 5-6 days, the price of scrap has gone up by over Tk 2,000. The price of rod has gone up due to this increase in the price of raw material.
Is it only because of the increase in the price of raw materials that the price of rod has increased, the demand for rod has not increased? To such a question, he said, the demand for rods has increased a bit. However, some work was stopped due to corona. That is why the demand for rods has not increased as much as it should. Our sector is currently in a lot of trouble. Sales are much lower. We are being forced to raise prices mainly due to rising raw material prices abroad.