Traders given a week to sale 100-tonne stockpiled dates in Chattogram

Chattogram district authorities on Wednesday found dates worth nearly Tk5 crore at a cold storage facility in the port city’s Riazuddin Bazar while conducting a mobile court drive to control prices during the month of Ramadan.

The 100-tonne dates were stored at the wholesale market since September last year, potentially to push up prices during the Islamic month of fasting.

However, now the hoarders must sale these to retailers within a week to help stabilise market prices, officials from the Chattogram district administration told the media.

Executive Magistrate Pratik Dutta of the district administration gave the order to sell, warning that otherwise the dates would be confiscated and auctioned off.

During the mobile court drive, Pratik Dutta’s team also fined Ali General Store Tk30,000 for selling dates at a rate nearly 150% higher than their purchasing price of Tk2,850.

The mobile court imposed further fines on Safa Marwa Dry Fruits and Aroba Enterprises respectively for not keeping a price list and for failing to keep trading receipts. Safa Marwa was fined Tk5,000 while Aroba Enterprises was fined Tk10,000.

The mobile court drive would continue to check market manipulations and to stabilise prices during Ramadan, Chattogram district officials told reporters.