Govt to strengthen monitoring to control edible oil price

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi today said that the government would strengthen its monitoring for controlling the prices of essentials, including edible oil, so that the middlemen could not make profit illegally.

He also said that a committee of the Commerce Ministry is also working to ensure fair price of the imported products in the local market.

The minister said this at a briefing at the Commerce Ministry conference room after holding a meeting with the edible oil businessmen.

Referring to the price hike of edible oil in the local market, Tipu said, “The price of edible oil in the international market has increased by 70 percent. Around 90 percent of the local demand of edible oil is being imported from abroad. As a result, the price of edible oil in the local market witnessed ups and downs in consistence with the price in international market.”

He said the government is taking necessary steps so that the prices of products are fixed in the local market in consistence with the international market.

Noting that the government is trying to sort out the problem after going into its depth, the commerce minister said efforts are on to sell the unpacked edible oil of all brands in packed bottles so that the brands could be identified easily as well as to avert adulteration.

Side by side, he said, efforts are there so that the middlemen could not take illegal benefit.

Answering to a question, Tipu said that the businessmen have been suggested to ensure sufficient import and stock of all essential items ahead of the holy month of Ramadan. Besides, the state-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) would sell products this year three times more than the previous year at affordable prices.

Commerce Secretary Dr Md Jafar Uddin, Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission Chairman Munshi Shahabuddin Ahmed, National Consumers Rights Protection Department Director General Bablu Kumar Saha, Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute Director M Obaidul Azam, TCB Chairman Brigadier General M Ariful Hasan and Meghna Group Chairman Mostafa Kamal, were present, among others on the occasion.