Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder said that there is no apprehension of food crisis in the current fiscal year in the country while Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi said that essential commodity prices started becoming stable in the market.
Both the ministers made the remarks while replying to queries of the parliament members during the parliament session chaired by Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury on Tuesday.
Responding to a question from ruling party MP Ali Azam, the Food Minister said there was no shortage of food grains in the country in the last fiscal year 2020-21 and, accordingly, there is no risk of food crisis in the current 2021-22 financial year.
Replying to another query from another ruling party lawmaker Shafiul Islam, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi said the Ministry of Commerce has taken various effective steps to keep the prices of essential commodities stable and tolerable during the upcoming Ramadan and these measures are being implemented.
“Despite the recent price hike of various essential commodities, the prices of commodities have started to become stable and tolerable as a result of various measures taken by the government,” said the Commerce Minister.
Replying to another question from Jatiya Party lawmaker Rustum Ali Faraji, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi said, “Prices of essential commodities in the country sometimes go up due to price hike in the international markets and for the natural disasters.”
“The government is doing everything for keeping the prices of essential commodities under control and tolerable, the Commerce Minister said.
“We have held meetings with the businessmen to keep the prices of essential commodities stable. Moreover, several drives have been conducted against the wrongdoers to keep the market tolerable,” he added.
The Commerce Minister also said, “The Competition Commission is working to ensure that no one can create a monopoly or oligopoly situation with the prices of products.”
Replying to a question by the ruling party MP M Abdul Latif, Tipu Munshi said, “The price of edible oil went up in the country due to the rise of the price of edible oil in the international market. However, the prices of edible oil and other essential commodities have remained stable and tolerable due to the effective measures taken by the Ministry of Commerce.”
