Environment Syeda Rizwana Hasan on Tuesday said the government is determined to set an example in controlling air, noise, plastic, and river pollution. “Our efforts are focused on ensuring a cleaner and healthier environment for the people of Bangladesh,” she said. The environment adviser made this remark when Ambassador of the Netherlands to Bangladesh Irma van Dueren paid a courtesy visit to her at the Secretariat. The meeting discussed strengthening collaboration between Bangladesh and the Netherlands in the areas of environmental sustainability, water resource management, and pollution control. Both sides discussed ongoing initiatives and future cooperation to address the growing challenges of climate change and environmental degradation in Bangladesh, said a press release. Rizwana emphasized the importance of community involvement in environmental initiatives, particularly in river conservation. “Rivers are the lifeline of our ecosystem, and any sustainable cleanup programme must involve local communities. Their active participation is key to ensuring long-term success in preserving our natural resources,” she added. Read more: Price hikes: Seven businesses fined in market monitoring drive She also mentioned the government's ongoing enforcement of the polythene shopping bag ban. The Dutch Ambassador expressed her country's willingness to assist Bangladesh in its efforts to improve water resource management and mitigate the effects of climate change. In the meeting, both sides expressed optimism about future collaborations to enhance environmental conservation and water resource management in Bangladesh. The Dutch government’s expertise in water management and Bangladesh’s commitment to sustainable development were recognised as strong foundations for continued partnership. The environment secretary and the water resources secretary, director general of Bangladesh Water Development Board, among others, were present at the meeting.

In the face of severe oppostion criticism in parliament for his alleged failure to control price hike of the essential commodities Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi on Monday offered to resign if  the prime minister gives the responsibility of running the ministry to one of the opposition MPs. Gonoforum MP Mokabbir Khan fired the first shot against Tipu Munshi during the discussion on proposed  cut motion on the Ministry of Commerce in the budget for FY2023-24. Jatiya Party MPs also criticised the commerce minister for the rising prices of daily products. They also raised the question whether the 'business' minister, Tipu Munshi, is involved with the market syndicate or not. Cow rawhide price increases by 6 percent this year: Tipu Munshi Rustam Ali Faraji of Jatiya Party said in the discussion on the retrenchment proposal, what does the monitoring cell of the ministry do?  “Such a big ministry. If the minister does not have dynamism then the price will increase. If only one person works and everyone sleeps, then the country will not run. Market syndicates should be broken up. It is certainly possible if desired. But if you think the business belongs to me then it is sad for the country and its people.” Jatiya Party's Shamim Haider Patwari said that even though the commodity prices have decreased in global markets in the last few months, it is not affecting the country.  Avoid excessive buying to keep markets stable: Commerce Minister “Inflation in Bangladesh was 6 percent now it seems to be 10 percent. It is growing. Inflation is eating away people's income. Due to inflation, soap, bread are all getting smaller," he said. He mentioned that making the government budget and household budget are not the same thing.  He said that the budget of the government is decreasing and due to this rice, pulses, oil, chicken size and meat pitches are getting smaller.  “The economy of Bangladesh is trapped in a vicious cycle of inflation. The government should take steps to overcome this," he said. “There are syndicates. There is no doubt about it. That syndicates are powerful. But are they stronger than the government? I don't think they can be stronger than the government. If there is a syndicate within the government, it must be identified," he said. Bangladesh allows green chilli import as price keeps rising He said that the minister has a vast business.  “He is a successful businessman. I believe that if he is given the freedom to act, then he can definitely control it," said he. Gonoforum MP Mokabbir Khan said that the most unsuccessful ministry of the current government is the Ministry of Commerce.  “When you go to the market, you hear from people that the Ministry of Commerce is so unsuccessful that people call it a syndicate friendly ministry.” With higher spice prices, consumers feeling the pinch this Eid-ul-Azha Alleging the involvement of a syndicate of traders to increase the price of goods, Mokabbir said that many people said that the commerce minister was involved. “Why don't you resign after all this?” Mokabbir asked the the commerce minister. Mokabbir said that when the commerce minister says that the price of a product will decrease, the price of that product increases the next day.  He said that he knows that the minister will not give any answer. Spice prices soar in Faridpur ahead of Eid-ul-Azha Jatiya Party Member of Parliament Roshan Ara Mannan said that people get upset when they go to the market.  “The Ministry of Commerce is not monitoring the market properly. The commerce minister is a freedom fighter. Why can't he control the market ?” Jatiya Party lawmaker Pir Fazlur Rahman said that the minister of state for industries said that people cry when they go to market, and the only reason is the syndicate. “People also understand this. The Russia-Ukraine war alone should not be blamed for the rise in commodity prices. The syndicate has looted thousands of rupees in the egg market. Chicken eggs do not come from Ukraine.” Forex reserves likely to increase due to govt steps: PM Hasina tells Parliament He said that the commerce minister has said that some traders are taking advantage of the product prices.  “Our commerce minister can not arrest the syndicate people who raise prices. He himself is a businessman. He knows which businessmen are doing it. So are these businessmen close to him, which is why he can't catch the syndicate businessmen?” He demanded that the commerce minister should say publicly why he is not able to do that. Pir Fazlu said that Tk 1500 crore has been looted in the onion market.  “A few companies are looting Tk 17 crore daily in the sugar market. Thousands of crores of taka has been looted in boiler chicken market in a month and a half. The commerce minister can't do anything.” Tipu Munshi said that it is possible to take actions against the market syndicate including jail and fine.  “There is talk of syndicate. It's just that big groups do a lot of business together. We need to focus - we jailed, fined. That might be possible. But it will be difficult for us to bear the sudden crisis. That's why we try to stay within the rules through discussion,” he said. Referring to his involvement in politics long before coming to business,  Tipu said, "One thing that comes up time and again is that I am a businessman and businessmen are taking advantage of me. I don't know how many years of experience they have in politics. But I have been in politics for 56 years. I have been in business for 40/42 years now.” Responding to Mokabbir's demand, the minister said, "Someone here asked me to resign. I will tell the honorable prime minister that if he (Mokabbir) takes responsibility, she can relieve me and give the responsibility to him. I have no problem.” Tipu said that the price has increased and the prime minister repeatedly says that people are suffering.  He mentioned that the global situation has affected the country, not the internal causes. “we have to take that into consideration." Talking about the onion price, the minister said, there is no doubt that the price has increased. Onions have been mentioned. We discussed with the Ministry of Agriculture and decided that farmers should get a price that encourages them to grow.  He mentioned that in onion, the country has a shortfall of 6 to 7 lakh tonnes every year.  “Farmers will focus on production if the price is better. By this step our deficit is reduced by half. But it should not be exactly Tk 80 to 90 per kg. That is why we have arranged the import," he said  He said that the government did not want to import onion for ensuring fair price to the local farmers.  “But we imported on the instructions of the prime minister. Imported Indian onions are now Tk 40/45 per kg. Today, the price of our desi onion is Tk 65. I think it should be reduced further. we are trying. Within 10/15 days it will come to within Tk 50 a kg” The minister said that everything is not fixed by the Ministry of Commerce.  “I am still taking responsibility and we are trying our best to do what we can," he stated. Regarding sugar price surge, he said  he has requested the prime minister to reduce the duty structure to bring down the price within Tk 100 a kg.    

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader has said that despite the price hike of essentials around the world, Bangladesh is still in a better position compared to many others. Quader, also Awami League general secretary, made the remark today during a briefing on current issues at the ministry's meeting room in the Secretariat. “This rise in prices is not just limited to Bangladesh; it is happening all over the world, including in countries like France and Germany,” he said. He also said that the government is making sincere efforts to address this problem, and commodity prices have already gone down, with further decease expected. Quader also mentioned that irregularities and price manipulation are not new issues in Bangladesh and they happen during Ramadan. “But the government is taking action against such practices,” he said. Read more: Govt's power price hike an 'anti-people' decision: Fakhrul Regarding criticism that initiatives against syndicates have not yielded result yet, the minister said that if results were not achieved, Bangladesh would not be considered a success by others. He pointed out that despite challenges, Bangladesh has made significant progress and has received praise from world leaders such as the presidents of US, China and Russia. On another note, Quader said it is not appropriate to evaluate the success or failure of a ministry solely based on road accidents. When asked about his ability to improve road safety, he responded by drawing attention to the high number of accidents and fatalities that occur in countries such as India and Saudi Arabia. “Yesterday over 20 people died in a road accident in Saudi Arabia. What are your thoughts on this tragic incident? A blown tyre can cause accidents and lead to such devastating outcome,” he said. Quader emphasized that accidents are a common occurrence worldwide and cannot overshadow the numerous successful projects implemented during the government's tenure. Read more: Govt to soon fix prices of 9 daily essentials He also suggested that incidents of high success of the government may be targeted by critics. Quader went on to discuss the revision of the RPO, final approval of which is pending.  

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi said on Wednesday that the initiative has been taken to stock seven daily essentials and ensure adequate supply to keep their prices stable during the fasting month of Ramadan. The minister said this while speaking at the 5th meeting of the ‘Task Force on Review of Commodity Prices and Market Situation’ held at the conference hall of the Ministry of Commerce at the Secretariat on Wednesday. Read more: Govt to soon fix prices of 9 daily essentials He said necessary measures have been taken to ensure supply of edible oil, sugar, lentil, onion, dates, rice, and wheat as per the demand. He said despite some difficulties in LC opening due to the current global situation necessary action has been taken to disburse foreign currencies through banks for LC opening to facilitate imports of essential commodities. “The government of India has been informed not to stop the export of some essential items without prior notice. In addition, the Indian government has ensured supply of essentials as per Bangladesh's requirement,” the minister said. He reassured that there will be no shortage of the essential commodities and the prices will remain normal considering all these aspects. “Market monitoring will be intensified to keep the situation normal and there is no need to buy large quantities of these goods at once before the start of the Ramadan. The country's media can play an important role in creating public awareness in this regard,” the minister said. Read more: Cabinet asks for a realistic assessment of price situation of essentials and tasks ahead Prime Minister's Advisor on Private Industry and Investment Salman F Rahman attended the meeting while Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce Tapan Kanti Ghosh presided over the programme. Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission Chairman Mahfuza Akhtar, Bangladesh Competition Commission Chairperson Pradeep Ranjan Chakraborty, Bangladesh Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) Chairman Brigadier General Md. Ariful Hasan, Director General of National Consumer Rights Protection Directorate AHM Shafiquzzaman, NBR’s representative Khandkar Nazmul Haque, Director (Foreign Exchange Operations) of Bangladesh Bank Abdul Haque, First Vice President of FBCCI Mostafa Azad Chowdhury Babu, representative of Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) Kazi Md. Abdul Hannan, representatives of TK Group, City Group and various intelligence and security agencies were also present at the meeting.

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi has said the government is forming a taskforce to monitor essentials' prices, and to conduct a nationwide drive against illegal hoarding. The minister informed reporters of the development after an inter-ministerial meeting held at the Secretariat on Sunday afternoon to set a work plan for reining in the prices of essential items, despite record food stocks in the government's warehouses. Moreover, the Commerce Minister said that the number of TCB trucks selling essential goods in Dhaka has been increased to 150, from 50. Overall across the country, the number of such trucks will be increased to 1000 from 500. Also read: Also read: Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal presided over the inter-ministerial meeting. After the two-hour meeting, Munshi told reporters that the impact of the Ukraine-Russia war had been felt in Bangladesh as well. However, he also said many dishonest traders are taking advantage of this. Strict instructions have been given to the law enforcement agencies in the meeting to monitor markets so that prices do not get out of hand. Also read: Ministers 'joking' with people about price hike: BNP Top officials of the administration including Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, Agriculture Minister Dr. Mohammad Abdur Razzaqu and Police Chief Benazir Ahmed were present at the meeting. Recently, the prices of soybean oil, onion and other essential commodities have been rising uncontrollably. Also read: Slashing VAT, taxes on essential commodities during Ramadan under consideration: Home Minister   There has been a huge reaction among the common people, who are not at all pleased to be confronted with such runaway inflation, before they could even recover fully from the pandemic's hit . People from all walks of life are expressing their anger. Various protest programs are also going on in the political arena over the issue.

Essential commodities monitoring cell and Bangladesh Competition Commission are working to identify illegal syndicates and hoarders for breaking the trap of price hike of the essentials by rumours. Both the wings of the commerce ministry are collecting information from the markets regarding illegal syndicate and hoarding for final action following instructions from high ups of the government, said AHM Shafiquzzaman, additional commerce secretary on Sunday. Read:TCB truck comes as relief amid price hike He told UNB that despite having enough supply of the essentials a group of people sometimes spread rumours among common people to enhance the sale of particular commodities. He believed the common people are not aware enough about the price hike trap and as a result they would buy particular goods more than their need at higher price on the rumours of short supply. The government is taking strict action against the businessmen who are making hefty profits, Shafiquzzaman said. They are being brought under the law by finding out why the market is unstable even after the supply of essential commodities is adequate. When contacted, Mofizul Islam, chairman of BCC said, “We are reviewing various products and services, including daily necessities, to understand the market." Necessary information is being collected from various organizations to understand whether the market is anti-competitive or not.” Information on who is importing these products or producing them in the country, at what price they are being sold are being reviewed, he said. He said that legal action would be taken against the concerned organization if any discrepancy was found after investigation. Giving example, he said, ‘Suppose a pharmaceutical company is selling the same class of medicine at a price higher than the market price. We investigate the reasons for the price difference. At the same time, let's see if the market is being affected in any dishonest way. ' The Commission will take action against the responsible organization or person in two ways, by fines and criminal cases. Read: 25% price hikes of construction materials: FBCCI urges government to curb price Depending on the type of crime, fines are imposed. There are rules for a minimum of 1 per cent and a maximum of 10 per cent fines for the amount of transactions or products sold by the company in the previous three years. Mofizul said, "There is no provision for direct imprisonment in the law of the Competition Commission. Only financial penalties can be imposed. However, if we do not obey the order, there is a chance of a criminal case. There is a provision of jail in criminal cases.”