Traders told to raise import of some essentials

The government is going to take prior measures to keep the commodity prices stable during the holy month of Ramadan.

To ensure the availability of essentials, in the meantime, the government has directed the business community to increase the import of certain major commodities for the holy month.

Consumers will be able to buy daily commodities like onion, gram, edible oil, sugar, pulses, and flour at affordable prices during Ramadan.

Considering the pandemic outbreak, the government market regulator Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) for the first time decided to sell daily necessities online in a special packet called ‘Eid Upahar’.

Besides, the city dwellers will get the opportunity to buy TCB products online from home. Its sale activities will be increased three times more.

The Prime Minister's Office has instructed all concerned to control the prices of 17 essential commodities including consumer goods.

Agriculture and Commerce ministries have jointly launched a program to ensure fair prices and supply of daily necessities. For the first time, these two ministries have formed a 'working group'.

The committee will review the annual demand, production, import, stock, marketing, and price of daily commodities.

The government agencies will regularly monitor the market after Shab-e-Barat so that the unscrupulous traders do not get any opportunity to manipulate the market. There will be no opportunity to sell products beyond the fixed price. For this, retailers are required to display the price list in the store. The Commerce Ministry will form the largest team in market monitoring.

Two separate teams from the Directorate of National Consumer Right Protection (DNCRP) and the Food Ministry will also observe the market situation. Besides, the government intelligence agencies will keep an eye on the traders.

Recently, a meeting with the importers and the Commerce Ministry was held to discuss about the preparation for Ramadan. The meeting emphasized on increasing stocks and imports of products used during Ramadan.

As per the meeting directives, the import of the most essential commodities of Ramadan will be completed before a month of the holy month.

The central bank is also going to instruct the banks to open LCs on easy terms and give loans if necessary.

The government will take necessary steps to reduce the import duty on all consumer goods used during Ramadan to zero percent and speedy release at the port.