The prices of daily commodities will come down to reasonable levels, but it is not possible overnight, said State Minister for Commerce Ahasanul Islam Titu on Sunday, reports bdnews24.com.
The Department of Agricultural Marketing, The Directorate of National Consumers' Right Protection, deputy commissioners, upazila executive officers, and all other officials will work in coordination in order to achieve the goal, he said.
The state minister made the comments following a discussion organised by the Ministry of Commerce at the TCB Building in Dhaka on the occasion of the 104th birth anniversary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and National Children's Day.
"When you set something at a reasonable level, it cannot be implemented immediately," Islam said.
"First it was necessary to determine it [the fair value]. For a long time there has been a law, but it was not implemented. We will now coordinate with the Department of Agricultural Marketing, The Directorate of National Consumers' Right Protection, UNOs, and DCs. We hope it will reach a reasonable level."
The Department of Agricultural Marketing has recently determined the production cost and 'reasonable price' of 29 domestic agricultural products under the 'Agricultural Marketing Act 2018'. These prices were set at three stages -- production, wholesale, and retail.
"The Department of Agriculture Marketing has set prices of goods," the state minister said.
"The department has its own committees at the district, upazila and central levels. As we conduct market monitoring, we will begin to coordinate this monitoring. Price discoveries won't happen instantaneously. It will be our responsibility to monitor prices at the production and wholesale and later the retail level."
"Wherever we go, we speak with bazar committees, with traders, and we encourage them. We are resolving their issues and trying to implement our plan. We are not closing or shuttering stores anywhere. Those who aren't following the rules at all, those who are selling at the retail or wholesale level will have to show receipts. They must give you a receipt when you buy at retail. If they don't follow these rules, we will bring them to justice."
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