Staff Reporter :
The Ministry of Commerce (MoC) will intensify its market monitoring drive from the first day of Ramzan with a view to curbing artificial price hike of essentials during the fasting month, which is expected to begin from Tuesday.
A total of 14 teams have been formed to monitor city markets during the holy Ramzan, officials said.
They said that the teams led by one magistrate will visit the city’s kitchen markets and examine the price lists at the wholesale and retail level, check food adulteration, proper weighting, price tags on packed commodities and BSTI authorization for marketing a product.
The district administrations have also been asked to conduct similar drives so that commodity prices remain stable in district level during Ramzan.
Earlier, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi has sent letters to Deputy Commissioners (DCs) of respective districts asking to conduct market monitoring drive so that prices of essentials remain within the buying capacity of common people during Ramadan.
He also wrote letters to the heads of the law-enforcement agencies to check extortion on the highways to keep commodity prices stable.
Besides, intelligence vigilance has been intensified in the country’s key commodity markets to curb traders’ bid of illegal hoarding, price and market manipulation and syndication.
Intelligence agencies will also gather information about stock and supply of essentials in wholesale commodity markets to tackle any kind of abnormal situation arises in the market from unholy nexus by key commodity players and wholesalers.
“We will strengthen market monitoring drive with a view to controlling price hike of commodities and food adulteration during the holy month of Ramzan,” Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi told The New Nation yesterday.
He said the government would not tolerate any kind of price manipulation during the holy month. Traders would face tough action if they found in price manipulation, food adulteration and other illegal practice.
“The market monitoring teams will take action and punish traders through on-the-spot mobile courts,” he added.
The teams have been formed comprising officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Home and Industries, both the city corporations, local administration, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) and Directorate of National Consumers Rights Protection (DNCRP).
“The government is serious to keep the commodity market under control during the Ramzan and throughout the year as well,” said Tipu Munshi, adding, “We remain cautious about unscrupulous traders’ bid to make extra profit during any occasion through price manipulation. But there is a mere chance to market manipulation by the dishonest businessmen when the country has a sufficient stock of essential commodities.”
The Commerce Minister also said that the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) has already begun sell of essentials —edible oil, sugar, lentil, chickpea and dates–at subsidized rates across the country as part of the government’s effort to maintain stability in commodity market.
“I hope prices of essentials will remain normal during the Ramzan taking advantage of the government’s measures and ample stocks of commodities.”
