Bid to manipulate essentials' prices during Ramadan to be foiled
FE Report | Friday, 25 July 2008
The government has decided to go tough against unscrupulous traders to foil any effort to manipulate prices of essentials during the month of Ramadan, a senior official said Thursday.
He said the law-enforcing agencies will start monitoring the market from the very beginning of the holy month.
An inter-ministerial meeting held Thursday at the Ministry of Commerce took the decision and discussed the demand and supply situation of staple food and other consumer goods.
The meeting, however, instructed the government agencies for adopting all necessary measures to keep supply of the consumer goods uninterrupted in the market during the Ramadan month, the official said.
He said the Ministry of Home Affairs has been instructed for making special security arrangement in and around the shopping malls and financial institutions, including banks, to ensure safety of life and property in the holy month.
Emerging from the meeting, Golam Mostakim, additional secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, said: "We have decided to strengthen market monitoring in a systematic manner at the very beginning of Ramadan month to keep prices of essentials steady."
He said it was decided that the law enforcers will watch the market and look into the prices of essentials, particularly the demand orders (DO) and vouchers of edible oil to check unusual rise in prices.
Mr Mostakim said the ministries of fisheries and livestock, agriculture and cooperatives, and a number of government bodies, including Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), are responsible for augmenting the supply of essential consumer items in the city market during the Ramadan.
Answering a question, he said the TCB will sell 3000 tonnes of edible oil, 3000 tonnes of lentil, 500 tonnes of onion and 500 tonnes of gram at fair prices from its sales centres and mobile van.
"We have asked the TCB to procure the consumer goods at the earliest," Mr. Mostakim said.
Apart from this, he said, the Department of Agriculture Marketing, the Department of Cooperatives, the Department of Fisheries and livestock will arrange selling of vegetables, fish, milk and other consumer items at fair prices.
"We have requested the Department of Agriculture Extension and other agencies to boost production of cucumber, green chili, eggplant, and papaya to meet the demand," Mr. Mostakim said.
Side by side, Mr. Mostakim said, there will Open Market Sales (OMS) of rice and Operation Dhal-Bhat of DDR to keep the market steady.
Regarding the stock of rice, an official said agreements have been signed with the millers on purchase of over 1.0 million tonnes of rice against a procurement target of 1.2 million tonnes.
Apart from this, there is a stock of 670,217 tonnes of rice in the warehouses of the government, which is the highest reserve in 7/8 years.
He said the law-enforcing agencies will start monitoring the market from the very beginning of the holy month.
An inter-ministerial meeting held Thursday at the Ministry of Commerce took the decision and discussed the demand and supply situation of staple food and other consumer goods.
The meeting, however, instructed the government agencies for adopting all necessary measures to keep supply of the consumer goods uninterrupted in the market during the Ramadan month, the official said.
He said the Ministry of Home Affairs has been instructed for making special security arrangement in and around the shopping malls and financial institutions, including banks, to ensure safety of life and property in the holy month.
Emerging from the meeting, Golam Mostakim, additional secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, said: "We have decided to strengthen market monitoring in a systematic manner at the very beginning of Ramadan month to keep prices of essentials steady."
He said it was decided that the law enforcers will watch the market and look into the prices of essentials, particularly the demand orders (DO) and vouchers of edible oil to check unusual rise in prices.
Mr Mostakim said the ministries of fisheries and livestock, agriculture and cooperatives, and a number of government bodies, including Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), are responsible for augmenting the supply of essential consumer items in the city market during the Ramadan.
Answering a question, he said the TCB will sell 3000 tonnes of edible oil, 3000 tonnes of lentil, 500 tonnes of onion and 500 tonnes of gram at fair prices from its sales centres and mobile van.
"We have asked the TCB to procure the consumer goods at the earliest," Mr. Mostakim said.
Apart from this, he said, the Department of Agriculture Marketing, the Department of Cooperatives, the Department of Fisheries and livestock will arrange selling of vegetables, fish, milk and other consumer items at fair prices.
"We have requested the Department of Agriculture Extension and other agencies to boost production of cucumber, green chili, eggplant, and papaya to meet the demand," Mr. Mostakim said.
Side by side, Mr. Mostakim said, there will Open Market Sales (OMS) of rice and Operation Dhal-Bhat of DDR to keep the market steady.
Regarding the stock of rice, an official said agreements have been signed with the millers on purchase of over 1.0 million tonnes of rice against a procurement target of 1.2 million tonnes.
Apart from this, there is a stock of 670,217 tonnes of rice in the warehouses of the government, which is the highest reserve in 7/8 years.