Govt in a fix over hike on int’l market

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The government is in a dilemma over how to keep essentials’ prices low as domestic fuel price increase in line with international market movement has affected transport cost of goods.

Press Secretary to the Chief Adviser, Syed Fahim Munaim, yesterday said the government is becoming increasingly concerned over the price spiral of fuel on international markets but is yet to find a way to rein in the ever-increasing prices of edible oil along with other essentials.

Asked how the government will pin down spiralling prices when its reported plan for a 10 percent fuel price hike would further bump up transport costs resulting in further rise in prices, Fahim said, “These are the dilemmas of the government …The cabinet is intensely discussing how we are to balance it.”

“(Essentials) Prices in our neighbouring countries have also gone up. If you look at India, they have recently had their worst production in 35 years. They have stopped exporting lentils, which we now have to import from countries like Australia and Canada,” said Fahim.

He said, “Domestically, there is no shortage of supply (of essentials), so the problems are somewhere else.” He added that people need to be patient as it would take time for government policies to have impact on the market.

Pointing out the effects of rising international oil and commodity prices, Fahim said the government is going to encourage businessmen to open more letters of credit (LCs) and minimise role of local middlemen, and relax weight limits on goods-carrying transports.

Admitting that businessmen have been reluctant to open LCs since the start of the ongoing anti-corruption drive, Fahim said the government would take steps to increase business confidence to ‘normalise’ the situation.

Meanwhile, the government has recently withdrawn the weight-limit on trucks carrying food items while also allowing these trucks and vans to ply on rickshaw-free Dhaka streets between 11am and 4pm.

It also plans a two-month long Open Market System along with emergency purchase of six lakh tonnes of food items and sale of rice, lentils, soybean and onions through Trading Corporation Bangladesh (TCB).

Fahim also mentioned that Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) has proposed to open four wholesale kitchen markets and will take special measures to keep prices of chickpeas, onions and edible oil at a ‘tolerable level’ during the fasting month of Ramadan.

The government would also consider importing these goods, if necessary. The last BNP-led colaition government had already proposed opening four wholesale kitchen markets in Dhaka’s Lalbagh, Jatrabari, Aminbazar and Tejgaon areas in addition to the existing Karwan Bazar market.

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