50,000 metric tons of Indian onion will arrive by days- two or three through the Darshana route, said State Minister for Commerce Ahsanul Islam Titu on Sunday.
He was addressing a seminar on "Impact of syndicate and competition on price of essentials” organised by International Business Forum of Bangladesh (IBFB) held at its office in the city’s Tejgaon Industrial area.
State Minister attended the programme as the chief Chief Guest, while Senior Secretary to the Ministry of Commerce Tapan Kanti Ghosh was the Special Guest.
Professor at the Department of Economics, University of Dhaka Dr. Mohammad Helal Uddin Ahmed presented the Key Note paper while the IBFB President Humayun Rashid chaired and moderated the programme.
A member of Bangladesh Competition Commission Hafizur Rahman, Director General of the Directorate of National Consumers' Right Protection (DNCRP) A.H.M. Shafiquzzaman, Former Secretary to the Government and Chairman of NBR Dr. Muhammad Abdul Mazid, Legal Economist & the IBFB Vice President M.S. Siddiqui spoke on the occasion among others.
In his speech, chief guest Ahsanul Islam Titu said there is no perfection with market definition. Different issues like natural calamities, pandemic and global conflict sometimes seriously disrupt the market. But when the government detects any unscrupulous behavior in the market, it takes necessary action.
The keynote presenter Dr. Mohammad Helal Uddin Ahmed said there are huge allegations of market syndication while the government is trying to address them. Actually there are differences between price level and price fluctuations. As people's incomes are not increasing proportionately with price fluctuations, they are concerned with the price level changes.
Tapan Kanti Ghosh said formalization of the market, measures to check market imperfections, and reducing information gaps are vital. He said steps like policing and price fixation actually don't work in market dynamics specially for agriculture produce.
Giving a highlight on the IBFB’s activities, its President Humayun Rashid said since many days it has become a tradition that prices of essentials increase during Ramadan. Prices of many items including sugar, soybean oil, rice, potato and dates have marked a significant rise in the last several years.
Member of Bangladesh Competition Commission Hafizur Rahman said all price hikes are not result of merely market syndication. Behind the price increase there are various reasons. There have been different changes in the country's taxation while the foreign currency exchange rates volatility has resulted in price hikes.