Traders hiked mobile phone prices across the Bangladeshi market at the very start of the year. Depending on brand and model, the price of each handset increased by between Tk 500 and Tk 5,000.

However, mobile phone importers and retailers have now expressed hope that prices will come down following the government’s decision to reduce import duties. They claim prices could fall before the beginning of February.

In practice, however, many believe this so-called “price reduction” will merely mean rolling back part of the recent increase and returning to earlier price levels. As a result, consumers are unlikely to receive the real benefit of the duty cuts.

Until recently, two types of mobile phones were sold in the country, “official” and “unofficial”. Due to their lower prices, handsets imported outside the legal channel were far more popular among buyers.

Official distributors have long alleged that the unofficial market sells smuggled and refurbished phones, posing serious risks to legitimate businesses.