As commodity prices continue to rise, some businesses have said that the dollar support given to the country's largest importers is very low.
Bank of Maldives (BML) provides up to 30 percent dollar support to small and medium enterprises and up to 50 percent of the price for small orders.
But some businesses said the dollar support up to 50 percent is provided for orders of USD 2,500, while 30 percent is offered for orders of USD 10,000.
Some major importers told Adhadhu that they usually places orders of USD 100,000 or more.
“[However] the average dollar support is 9 percent or 10 percent,” a businessman said on condition of anonymity.
Businesses have to purchase the remaining dollars at the black market rate, which is currently higher than MVR 20.
All the businesses that spoke to Adhadhu agreed that the continuous increase in commodity prices is due to the dollar exchange policy.
"Since then, it has been more difficult to buy dollars. The minimum rate in the black market is MVR 20 per dollar. So it explains the increase in commodity prices," one businessman said.
Another businessman said the government can import and sell products such as apples and oranges to bring down prices, but he said that it is a temporary solution.
The result would be private businesses going bankrupt and people losing their jobs, he warned.
