FBCCI asks traders to not increase prices before Eid

The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) has urged traders to not illogically increase prices of daily commodities ahead of Eid-ul-Azha and do business with honesty and transparency.

Such a rise in prices only leads to huge suffering for people from all walks of life, said FBCCI President Md Jashim Uddin during a meeting on imports, stocks, supplies and prices of essentials with stakeholders at the apex trade body’s office in Dhaka on Thursday.

He also requested the general people to not resort to panic buying as it destabilises the market for everyone.

Jashim termed the rice price hike amid the peak paddy harvesting season as irrational. “After discussing the matter with different businesses, I have understood that there are sufficient stocks of rice, onion, edible oils and spices.

“So, there is no reason to increase the prices of essentials ahead of Eid-ul-Azha.” Saying only the unscrupulous traders make the market unstable, the FBCCI chief urged the government to monitor the market properly to maintain stability ahead of the Eid, which is likely to fall on the second week of July.

He said, “The government should impose a ban on exporting packaged rice and enact separate laws for companies selling those. The authorities should fix prices of the packaged items as well.”

He also urged the authorities concerned to monitor the percentage of value addition by packaged rice. “We need a policy for this. The government should have bonded warehouses for essentials so that it can help to keep the market stable always.”

Jashim added that traders must stop the tendency to increase prices whenever they get a chance. “Some traders hiked the rice prices because they thought the recent floods will create a crisis. Some of you [traders] even raised the price by Tk 10 during the peak season of paddy harvest. People will never accept this.

“There is a system in doing business. It’s not logical to increase the prices at this time. You thought no one will be able to catch you. But now FBCCI has a market monitoring cell and the government is taking strict measures.”

Addressing the meeting, City Group Adviser Amitava Chakraborty said rice prices were decreasing and hoped the market will be stable in the next few days.

“However, edible oil prices depend on the international market. So, the government should adjust prices every 15 days after discussing with us. We hope there will be no crisis before Eid as we currently have enough stocks,” he added.

Mentioning spice prices did not increase in the wholesale market, Bangladesh Wholesale Spice Traders Association President Mohammad Enayet Ullah urged the government to reduce the duty rate on spice items.