The government beefs up monitoring at top level to thwart price hike of essentials through any artificial supply scarcity, officials say, as pre-Ramadan hoarding for a windfall remains a concern.
Meanwhile, as analysts say price spiral could assume security implications, the government took up the market watch at the highest level with a special panel.
Sources say the National Committee on Security Affairs (NCSA) in its maiden meeting asked agencies concerned to keep vigil so that any unscrupulous traders cannot create artificial storage of essential items, especially the main staple, rice.
The prime minister presided over the meeting. This was the first meeting of the current year 2022, they added.
"In line with the meeting decision, NCSA has asked the line ministries to strengthen its monitoring on essentials' prices aiming to ward off price hike of the commodities," says one source.
It has also instructed the authorities concerned to stay alert about unscrupulous rice millers so that they cannot create artificial crisis on the rice market, he adds.
To this effect, line ministries, including commerce and food, and public security division, have been asked to take necessary steps from respective sides to implement the decisions.
The food ministry has already formed three high-powered committees to oversee and thwart any attempt at market manipulation.
On the other hand, the commerce ministry has also taken steps in this regard, a high official of the ministry said.
"It has taken necessary steps, including market monitoring, to keep the prices of essentials stable on the market," he adds.
The government intends to closely monitor the price situation with a view to keeping the prices of essentials within the buying capacity of the commoners.
The prices of key essential items often show a significant rise in the country. But the monitoring teams failed to play their due role in keeping the prices of essentials stable and at a tolerable level, a section of consumers allege.
No visible impact was noticed with regard to the prices of some key items, especially rice, onions and edible oils in recent times despite efforts by the monitoring teams, they said.
The government hardly listened to pleas of the consumers as VAT on edible oils, sugar and rice is still on same highs, an expert says about one reason.
Further increase in prices of edible oils, rice, flour, onions and potatoes last week brought the commoners, who are already hit by the pandemic, to their knees.
Price of loose soybean oil rose by Tk 5.0 to Tk 150-155 a litre and palm oil to Tk 140-148 a litre while medium and finer rice varieties were selling at Tk 57 to 86 a kilogram, in a Tk 2.0-3.0 hike each kg.
Meanwhile, the government on February 06 approved the maximum retail price (MRP) of one-litre bottled soybean oil at Tk 168, five-litre jar at Tk 795, loose soybean oil at Tk 143 and palm oil at Tk 134 a litre set beforehand by the refiners in the third week of January, according to groceries and online shops in the city.
Loose soybean and palm oils were selling at much higher rates than the government-fixed price tags in absence of market surveillance, market observers say.
Prices of medium-quality rice hit Tk 57-Tk 60 a kg and the finer-quality ones stood at Tk 68-Tk 86 a kg, rising from Tk 55-Tk 57 and Tk 65-Tk 86 a kg respectively in the city retail markets.
Coarse varieties of rice remained static at their previous high of Tk 48-52 a kg in the city but were available in only few shops, forcing a large number of households to consume the medium varieties of the staple, said many inhabitants in the tenement areas.
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