Monitoring body finds price hike of soybean oil, onion 'illogical'

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An inter-ministerial committee Sunday recommended taking legal actions against those involved in jacking up the prices of several essentials, especially of soybean oil and onions, reports UNB.
The monitoring committee on essentials' prices in a meeting at the Commerce Ministry reviewed the reasons behind the price spiral of essentials, particularly of soybean oil and onion, and found the abnormal price rises 'illogical'.
After taking stock of the price situation, the committee recommended the government to "take legal steps against the individuals or quarters involved in fixing illogical prices of several essentials, especially of soybean oil and onions".
To bring the prices down to tolerable levels, the meeting placed a number of recommendations, including the formation of Price Commission, for consideration of the caretaker government.
It also asked for strengthening the activities of the monitoring committee, taking steps for increasing domestic production, gearing up the mobile-court activities to observe quality and weight of products, and enforcing the Consumer Right Protection Act.
The monitoring committee called upon the businesspeople to fix the selling prices of essential commodities "at reasonable rates, making less profit".
Market surveys had found prices having increased everyday or every alternate day. Particularly, the prices of the cooking oil, onions and powdered milk shot up beyond the reach of common consumers. Prices of some essential medicines also skyrocketed.
The inter-ministerial meeting made stocktaking of supply, stock and overall price situation of the essential commodities. Additional Secretary of the Commerce Ministry Golam Mostakim chaired the meeting.
Representatives from Agriculture, Industries, Fisheries and Livestock and Home Ministries and DGFI, Police Headquarters, BDR, TCB, BBS, heads of the Import and Export Controller office and DAE attended the meeting.