Deputy Secretary of the Commerce minister Mohammad Masukur Rahman Sikder has claimed that the government has declared war to find out the reasons behind the manipulation of edible oil prices at various stages after supply from Millgate.
He said that despite adequate supply, the Ministry of Commerce would conduct market campaigns if necessary to control the rising prices of edible oil at the consumer level.
He made the remarks at an exchange meeting on monitoring of commodity prices and market conditions during the month of Ramadan at the World Trade Center in Agrabad, Chittagong on Saturday afternoon. Chattogram Chamber of Commerce and Industry organized an exchange meeting. Chattogram Chamber of Commerce and Industry organized an exchange meeting. Although Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi was scheduled to attend the function, he could not attend due to illness. His private secretary Masukur Rahman Sikder spoke on the current market situation.
On the issue of raising the price of edible oil by Tk 12 per liter on behalf of the marketing company, the deputy secretary said that the government had fixed the price of oil at Tk 168 per liter ahead of Ramadan on February 6.
The marketing companies have demanded to increase the price considering the import.
But before that, who made the edible oil market volatile? Are they buying at Tk 150 and selling at Tk 180, buying at Tk 180 and selling at Tk 185? Where can we get all this information? We went to the retail market, where we were told that supplies were not coming from wholesale. Talked to wholesalers and distributors.
Lastly we took the information of big refinery organization. There have been some irregularities in getting the product from the mill gate to the consumer level. We are working with these issues in mind.
Masukur Rahman said that in the last two years, due to the effects of the corona virus and the Russia-Ukraine war, the prices of all kinds of products in the world have gone up. The world's production of daily necessities, including edible oil, sugar and pulses, has dropped by 30 percent. Despite the decline in production, the demand is increasing day by day. Due to the opposite position of demand and supply, it has also affected the market of Bangladesh. Even then, the government is working hard to bring the prices of commodities to a tolerable level.
Chattogram Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Mahbubul Alam presided over the meeting.. Director General of the Department of Consumer Protection AHM Safiquzzaman, Chittagong Additional Deputy Commissioner Md. Abu Raihan Dolan, CMP Deputy Commissioner of Police Md. Abdul Warish, Deputy Director of the National Consumer Rights Protection Department Mohammad Fayez Ullah, Chattogram Chamber of Commerce Syed Mohammad Tanvir spoke.
The event was also attended by importers, representatives of business associations of different markets, and high-ranking officials of various government agencies.