The government will sit again with trade associations and stakeholders this week aiming to keep the Ramadan market under control and prices of key essential commodities stable, commerce ministry sources said.
The meeting scheduled to take place at the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) on May 10 (Thursday) will review the prices of essential items in the local kitchen markets. Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed will preside over the meeting, they added.
"We have taken initiatives to keep the market of essential items stable throughout the year. We will sit on Thursday next to analyse the prices of commodities and their supply situation," a senior commerce ministry official said.
At present, both prices and supplies of various essential items in the local markets and the capital city remain stable, he said, adding that the situation would have to be kept under control during the holy month of Ramadan for the interests of the common people.
In the meeting, necessary steps would be taken to stabilise the prices of garlic, sugar, edible oil, onion, date and gram in Ramadan.
Representatives from the ministries of agriculture and food, National Board of Revenue (NBR), Bangladesh Tariff Commission (BTC), Bangladesh Bank (BB), Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation (BSFIC) and the Chief Controller of Imports and Exports will attend the meeting.
Representatives from the cell concerned of the MoC will also attend the meeting.
The government, however, already launched open market sale (OMS) of key essential items such as sugar, soybean oil, red lentil, gram and date aiming to keep their prices within the buying capacity of the common people during Ramadan.
TCB is selling essential items in different parts of the country, using 184 trucks in divisional cities and district towns. It sells five types of commodities such as sugar, soybean oil, lentil, gram and date, according to TCB.
The government sat on April 01 last with the country's trade associations and stakeholders to devise a plan ahead of Ramadan so that prices of key essential items remain stable during the holy month of fasting.
In the meeting, the traders assured the government that the prices of key essential items would not go up before or during the holy month of Ramadan as they have enough stock of these commodities.
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