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Download PDF Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed yesterday directed advisers and agencies concerned to find out mechanisms to keep prices of essentials, especially edible oil, under control.
Sources said the government is weighing options, including importing edible oil through the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh and Bangladesh Rifles and reducing duty on oil import, to curb the unusual price hike.
Expressing deep concern over the current price situation, the chief adviser directed the ministries to find out the reasons behind the abnormal increase of prices of essentials.
The directive came at a meeting with Finance and Planning Adviser Dr Mirza Azizul Islam, Commerce Adviser Hossain Zillur Rahman, National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Muhammed Abdul Mazid and representatives from Bangladesh Bank and edible oil refiners at the office of the chief adviser.
The meeting agreed upon a new strategy but nothing was disclosed because of strategic reasons.
“The meeting has taken specific decisions but I will not tell you that now,” Commerce Adviser Zillur Rahman told reporters after coming back to his office.
“We will finalise and disclose the strategies after having follow-up meetings with the government agencies concerned and other stakeholders,” he said.
A commerce ministry survey has found that the prices of edible oil increased on grounds of price hike on the international market although no new consignments of edible oil reached the country between February 25 and March 9.
The prices of edible oil rather decreased on the international market last week but it had no impact on the local market.
Zillur said they are going to take some effective measures immediately to ease the edible oil prices.
He said at the meeting the chief adviser discussed possible measures in this regard.
The meeting considered strengthening the market monitoring system to see if there is any flaw in it, if new intervention mechanism is necessary or the government could forecast the market situation, Zillur added.
Commerce Secretary Feroz Ahmed said the millers and wholesalers are blaming each other for the increasing edible oil price.
“We are monitoring how much edible oil was imported during the last couple of weeks, how much was supposed to be available and how much import is in the pipeline,” he said.
A high official of NBR said if the agencies concerned find it viable that reduction of duty will help reduce the price of edible oil, the government may consider it in future.
Meanwhile, the prices of edible oil reduced slightly at city markets yesterday and the retailers claimed that the supply has increased.
Soya bean oil was selling at Tk 130 per kg at retail markets on Saturday, breaking all records. The price went down to Tk 118 per kg yesterday.
Retailers said the wholesalers are now supplying as much soya bean oil as they demanded per day.
Abdur Rahman, a retailer at Karwan Bazar, said they got adequate supply from the dealers.
“Earlier I sold around 200kg edible oil a day, but on Friday and Saturday we got a very small supply against our demands,” he said.
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