Prices of toiletries and other homecare products shot up in the local market in the last three weeks, which is hurting consumers, as demand and necessity for such hygiene-related items increased notably during the pandemic.
Soap, detergent, toilet cleaner, toothpaste, tissue/napkin paper and a few other home-care products saw a 10-30 per cent price hike during this period, while income of most of the consumers declined in real terms, said insiders.
Manufacturing companies said rising import cost of raw materials, and comparatively low sale in the current year forced them to review prices of the items.
Consumer rights groups, meanwhile, urged the government for regular monitoring of fast-growing consumer products market to keep prices of such goods within the reach of limited-income people.
Price of each Lux beauty soap, weighing 100 gram, a product of Unilever Consumer Care, increased to Tk 38 from Tk 35, and its 150 gm pack to Tk 55 from Tk 50 at retail level over the last three weeks, said grocers.
Price of Dettol bath-soap of 100 gram, a product of Reckitt Benckiser (RB) Bangladesh shot up to Tk 42 from Tk 38 per piece.
Price of Savlon soap of same weight, a product of ACI Group, increased to Tk 50 per piece from Tk 46.
Price of Meril, a bath soap of Square Toiletries Ltd, increased to Tk 38 each from Tk 34.
According to many grocers, Savlon and Dettol became most popular soaps in Bangladesh during the pandemic, grabbing a significant share from market leader Lux.
Meanwhile, prices of Unilever detergents, like - Wheel and Rin, increased by 8-10 per cent in August.
Price of Wheel 500 gram pack increased to Tk 48 from Tk 45 per pack at the retail level.
Prices of different brands of toothpaste of the same company, including Close Up and Pepsodent, increased by Tk 5.0-7.0 per 100 gram tube.
Toilet cleaner Harpic, market leader in the segment and a product of RB Bangladesh, increased to Tk 135 from Tk 128 per 750 ml bottle, they added.
Meanwhile, prices of all kinds of tissue paper, including toilet role, napkin, table tissue and facial tissue, witnessed 15-30 per cent hike.
Toilet paper role price shot up to Tk 20 from Tk 16 per role, facial tissue to Tk 75 from Tk 62 per box, paper napkin to Tk 70 from Tk 55 per pack, and kitchen towel to Tk 68 from Tk 60 per role, according to different groceries across the city.
When contacted, an official at RB Bangladesh told the FE that import cost of raw materials increased this year, forcing them to review the prices after two years.
The prices were adjusted by also considering rising production cost as well as annual inflation of Bangladesh, he added.
According to the Bangladesh Cosmetics and Toiletries Manufacturers Association (BCTMA) and the Bangladesh Cosmetics and Toiletries Importers' Association (BCTIA), growth of the sector remained above 10 per cent annually for the last two decades, while the annual turnover amounting to over Tk 160 billion.
Arafat Rahman, official concerned of Bashundhara Tissue - the market leader in the segment, said price of its major raw material 'paper pulp' witnessed a significant hike in last one year.
He said the country's annual tissue consumption is now 10,000-11,000 tonnes, of which his company's market share is over 50 per cent.
The company reviewed the prices of tissue paper after three years, he noted.
The tissue paper industry, mostly led by local business groups, has been gradually booming in the country due to a change in people's lifestyle with rise in income.
The paper napkin turned into a Tk 15-billion industry in recent years from only Tk 500-million one twenty years back, according to the Bangladesh Paper Mills Association (BPMA).
More than 1.0 million families use toilet paper rolls every week and facial tissue every month, while 25,000 restaurants consume 10 million pieces of table napkin annually, which helped the industry maintain over 15 per cent growth until 2019, said the BPMA.
S M Nazer Hossain, vice president of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB), said toiletries and homecare products became necessary essentials during the viral pandemic due to rise in concern among people regarding hygiene issues.
"Washing hands with soap is the best way to remove the virus from one's hand, and this has raised demand for the item notably."
He also said the companies made robust sale and profit last year amid rising demand, which they should take into account while reviewing prices.
The government should ensure that production cost of soap and other homecare products remain in such a level that commoners could easily avail those for maintaining proper hygiene at home.
The companies should raise prices in a way that it does not hurt consumers, he concluded.
tonmoy.wardad@gmail.com