Govt will try providing essentials at fair prices: Ahasanul

State Minister for Commerce Ahasanul Islam Titu on Friday said that the government would try to continue providing essential items to common and low-income group people at subsidised and fair prices by setting up permanent shops for the dealers of the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB).

"Members of one crore family card holders are now enjoying the essential commodities of TCB at subsidised rates while there is an effort to increase such coverage in future," he said.

The state minister made the remarks while replying to a question at a post-budget press conference at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in Dhaka, reports BSS.

Finance Minister AH Mahmood Ali moderated the press conference and replied to various queries from reporters. Planning Minister Major General (retd) Abdus Salam, Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun, Agriculture Minister Md Abdus Shaheed, LGRD Minister Md Tajul Islam, Housing and Public Works Minister RAM Obaidul Muktadir Chowdhury, Education Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel, Prime Minister's Economic Affairs Adviser Dr Mashiur Rahman, State Minister for Finance Waseqa Ayesha Khan, State Minister for Commerce Ahasanul Islam Titu, Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder, NBR Chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem, and Finance Division Secretary Md Khairuzzaman Mozumder, accompanied and assisted the finance minister at the press conference.

Besides, State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad Ali Arafat, secretaries and other senior officials were also present at the press conference.

Mentioning that the government has reduced the duty on imports of essentials like rice, lentils, and chickpeas to 1 per cent from 2 per cent, Ahasanul said such a move would help to keep the prices of such items at a tolerable level.

He informed that the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP) would continue monitoring the markets as it is a continuous process. He said that import and supplementary duties have been reduced for a good number of products to impact the market.

Citing that food inflation is still comparatively high in the country for various reasons, the state minister for commerce said that efforts would be made to reduce inflation further, including food inflation.

Ahasanul said the prices of imported sugar and edible oil remained lower than last week, and the commerce ministry's operations to monitor the market would continue.