Commerce Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir on Sunday said the government has taken various measures to control the market of essential commodities and ensure their supply at reasonable prices.
Replying to a starred tabled question from ruling party lawmaker Sarwar Jamal Nizam (Chattogram-13) in the House, the minister said the Ministry of Commerce is actively working to maintain stability in the market and ensure uninterrupted supply of essential goods.
He said the government has taken an initiative to update and amend The Control of Essential Commodities Act, 1956 to make it more time-befitting and effective for market control.
The minister said the prices of edible oil are currently fixed by the ministry under the existing law and adjusted in line with international market prices and the price was revised three times in the current calendar year.
He said the prices of other essential commodities remained mostly stable in the past calendar year while onion prices increased temporarily during mid-year and in December–January but returned to normalcy after import was opened twice through joint decisions of the agriculture and commerce ministries.
The minister said a research initiative has been taken by assigning the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) to review market control models of India, Indonesia and other countries and develop an effective model suitable for Bangladesh.
He said the National Board of Revenue (NBR) reduced import duties on sugar, edible oil and dates this year following the Commerce Ministry’s initiative, which helped keep prices stable.
The minister told parliament that regular market monitoring drives are being conducted by the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection, with daily market inspections in Dhaka and regular operations at district and upazila levels.
The number of drives increased during Ramadan and other major festivals.
He said meetings were held with producers, importers, wholesalers and retailers to monitor supply and prices while the minister and secretary conducted surprise market inspections, including visits to Chattogram’s Khatunganj wholesale market.
The minister added that meetings were also held with LPG importers and distributors to maintain supply and price stability, while banking-related problems of importers and producers were resolved to ensure uninterrupted supply of essential goods.
He said special task forces at district level are conducting regular inspections of warehouses, cold storages, supply chains and wholesale markets to monitor prices and ensure minimum price differences between producers, wholesalers and consumers.
The Commerce Minister said regular meetings are being held with business leaders and chamber representatives to review and control prices of essential commodities.
He also informed that around one crore low-income people are receiving subsidised rice, soybean oil, sugar and lentils through TCB card distribution programme, helping stabilise the market and ensure affordable food supply for the poor.
The minister said a pilot agricultural market has been launched in Sylhet by collecting products directly from farmers and it will be expanded nationwide if successful.