The city markets are witnessing a supply shortage of personal computers (PCs), laptops and relevant ICT accessories due to increased demand for the products amid Covid-19 pandemic.
The demand for the ICT equipment and tools rose significantly as many professionals are working from home while students are joining online classes and virtually communicating with close ones to avoid virus infection, traders said.
On the other hand, they added, the essential products could not be made available in the local market due to disruptions in the global supply chain amid the coronavirus outbreak across the world.
Some buyers, however, alleged that a section of unscrupulous traders are now cashing in huge amount of money as they demand unusually higher prices for the products despite having stocks in some cases.
Abu Sayeed, a private sector service holder, told the FE that he was struggling to purchase a new computer as he found some of his desired components for the old one were not available in the market.
"I cannot manage a motherboard and a power-supply unit compatible with the processor for the PC I am building for my home use," he said while visiting the Multiplan Centre in the city's Elephant Road.
A personal computer comprises 8-10 components like casing, motherboard, processor, RAM and storage, sources said.
Mr Sayeed also said that despite having stocks, some retailers are charging higher price taking advantage of the supply crunch.
"Now I am planning to buy even at the additional cost because without the computer I cannot continue working from home," he added.
During several visits to the two prominent PC markets- BCS Computer City at Agargaon and Multiplan Centre at Elephant Road - the FE found a huge number of customers.
In addition to new PC and laptops, they were also looking for devices like security components, networking devices, routers, headphones, webcams, laptop batteries and chargers.
An accessories seller Apu Hossain said he has sold over one thousand units of Wi-Fi routers in the last one month which is more than double as compared to that of the pre-pandemic period.
Sources said the global PC market has been remaining volatile due to the higher demand against lower supply since the pandemic outbreak in china, the leading sourcing destination for PC components.
According to the global market intelligence farm International Data Corporation or IDC's estimation, worldwide PC shipments grew 11.2 per cent in the April-June period or second quarter of this calendar year.
Contacted, MdShahid-ul-Munir, President of the Bangladesh Computer Samity (BCS), said that shipments of the PC components and accessories were heavily disrupted in the last six months due to the pandemic, creating an augmented demand for them.
"As per my observation, there has been somewhat supply crisis for specific products like router, web camera and laptop as many educational institutions and offices are taking place virtually," he said, adding that the crisis did not hurt the overall market.
Terming the crisis as a periodic one, he expressed the hope that the demand-supply situation will become normal soon.
Demand for the devices increased significantly among the end users compared to the pre-pandemic period, he said, and added: "Corporate level or government level procurement is yet to resume."
About the overpricing issue, he said that the trade body has not received any complaints yet and suggested that the consumers should check price from online shops.
The local PC market size is estimated to be around Tk 150 billion (15,000 crore), the trade body leader assumed, saying that actually there is no official figure yet.
Md Jahed Ali Bhuiyan, a director of Star Tech limited - a renowned pc vendor in the local market, said the manufacturing and global supply chain remained halted for several months due to the pandemic.
"Say for example, there is a monthly demand for 10,000 units of a brand's laptop, but they can hardly import 3,000 units as manufacturers cannot meet the demand," he said.
Md. Muzahid al Beruni, a director of Smart Technologies (BD) Ltd, told the FE that the overall demand has increased by around 30 per cent in the recent times comparing the last year.
"The local PC market was static in the last year following a moderate growth in the period between 2015 and 2018," said Mr Beruni, a Joint Secretary General of the BCS.
He also said that the tech-consumers are now showing more interest in security devices, networking equipments and laptops.
All kinds of imports following the LC opening remained suspended for the last two months here in Bangladesh while the global value chain is now struggling due to the pandemic, the BCS leader explained.
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