Gap between retail, fixed prices very minimum

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FE Report
Two monitoring teams of the commerce ministry on Monday found that prices of the essentials were not much different from the rates fixed by the ministry.
The commerce ministry has fixed prices of potato, sugar, edible oil, onion, ginger and garlic after consulting with traders.
Magistrate Jasimuddin, member of a team, said they visited Karwan Bazar and Mohammadpur market and found that sugar sold at Tk 42-44 per kg at retail level.
According to Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) data on Monday, revealed that sugar price was Tk 44-46 per kg in the market.
Mr Jasimuddin said the teams do not have any mechanism to verify quoted prices of traders.
"It is not possible for us to verify if any trader conceals prices of products and give us wrong information," he admitted.
Leader of another team Mohammad Shah Alam Sikder said his team visited Moulvi Bazar and Kaptan Bazar and found that prices were more or less stable.
"Sugar was sold at Tk 45 per kg, onion Tk 18-38, potato Tk 28-29 and pulse Tk 98-112," he said.
The team warned traders not to engage in profiteering as the mobile teams will penalise if they are caught, he said.
"We are trying to give signal to the market that the government is monitoring the market and traders will be penalised if they want to make abnormal profit," he added.
The prices of essentials remained high even after the government's initiative to bring stability in the market.
The commerce ministry has fixed the wholesale prices of ginger and garlic at Tk 55-60 per kg, onion at Tk 18-19, soyabean oil at Tk 73 per litre and sugar Tk 39 per kg at mill gate to ease price pressure during the month of Ramadan.
The cold storage owners agreed to sell potatoes at Tk 22-23 at storage gate.