Cutting commodity prices at one go not possible: Adviser

Finance adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed has said the reduction in the prices of all types of commodities in the kitchen market at once is not possible.
Potato has risen in price, but some commodities have dropped in value, he said, adding that people make noise when commodity prices go up but don't praise the government when the same goes down.
"It's not possible to lower all commodity prices at once. In the market, one commodity will go up while another will go down."
Dr Ahmed made this observation to the media after a meeting of Advisers Council Committee on Government Purchase at the secretariat on Wednesday.
About no impact of the measures taken by the interim government, he said it was not true that there was no impact at all. "You people only talk about potato price hike, but don't acknowledge a drop in other commodity prices."
Replying to another query, Mr Ahmed said supplying all textbooks by January might not be possible, adding that approval was given to publish textbooks for class nine and 10 the same day.
The committee also gave its nod to procure liquefied natural gas (LNG), refined oil, crude oil, fertiliser, lentil and edible oil, among others.
Under an approval, Petrobangla will buy one cargo of LNG from M/S Vitol Asia Pte Ltd, Singapore, at Tk 7.08 billion, costing $15.02 per MMBtu.
The Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation will also purchase 0.6-million tonnes of Murban grade crude oil from Abu Dhabi National Oil Company in the 2025 calendar year at Tk 52.08 billion.
Moreover, it has been allowed to buy 0.7-million tonnes of Arabian Light grade crude oil from Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) for the same period at Tk 60.252 billion.
The Energy and Mineral Resources Division also got the green light to buy refined fuel oil during January-June 2025 at a cost of Tk 107.101 billion.
The Unipec Singapore Pte Ltd and Vitol Asia Pte Ltd of Singapore, and OQ Trading Limited of Dubai will supply the oil.
The committee also approved the import of some 130,000 tonnes of fertiliser from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Morocco and Russia.
As approved, the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation will buy 30,000 tonnes of bulk granular urea from SABIC Agri-nutrient Company, Saudi Arabia, at Tk 1.232 billion, with each tonne costing $342.33.
The committee allowed the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) to buy 30,000 tonnes of Muriate of Potash from JSC Foreign Economic Corporation "Prodintorg", Russia, at Tk 1.043 billion, costing $289.75 per tonne.
Under another approval, it will buy 40,000 tonnes of DAP fertiliser from OCP Nutricrops, Morocco, at Tk 2.806 billion, with each tonne costing $584.75.
The BADC has also been given the go-ahead to buy 30,000 tonnes of TSP from the same company at Tk 1.524 billion. Each tonne of fertiliser will cost $423.50.
The meeting also approved the procurement of 14.8-million litres of edible oil and 10,000 tonnes of lentil to sell the items among the poor at subsidised rates.
Under an approval, the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) will buy 10,000 tonnes of lentil from Nabil Naba Foods Ltd at Tk 959.7 million, costing Tk 95.97 per kilogram.
It will also purchase 3.81-million litres of unpacked soybean oil from S Alam Super Edible Oil Ltd under the direct procurement method (DMP) at Tk 533.4 million.
Each litre of oil will cost Tk 140.
Moreover, the TCB will buy 11-million litres of refined unpacked palm oil from the same company under DPM at Tk 1.43 billion, costing each litre Tk 130.

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