Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi has said the government will provide six products at affordable prices to one crore poor people in the wake of rising commodity prices ahead of the Ramadan. The products are onion, oil, pulses, sugar, date and chickpeas.
He said, “It is not possible to reach a large number of consumers by selling products at subsidized prices through TCB.”
He made the remarks while talking to the media at the Secretariat after attending a cabinet meeting on Sunday.
Tipu Munshi said the authorities were in talks if food aid could be delivered to 50 lakh distressed people who had received Tk 2,500 financial aid earlier.
He said, “Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has instructed us to make that arrangement for one crore people. With the month of Ramadan looming, food will be delivered to these people at affordable prices.”
He also blamed the price hike of edible oil in the international market.
However, commodity prices, which have been rising since the corona outbreak, have recently become one of the most talked about issues in the country. It has become difficult for low-income people to maintain a family.
The video of people rushing to buy goods at lower prices while the government is selling the goods at subsidized prices through TCB trucks has created a stir on social media. The Commerce Minister said, “It is true that people are suffering. We are trying to give subsidy to poor people from allocation getting from the government.”
Asked about the rise in onion prices, Tipu Munshi said, “If I say the opposite, why did the price of onion go up to Tk 25? farmers said that they will throw onion on the road. It is a raw material. If the transport is closed for two days, the price will go up.”
“The Ministry of Agriculture has given us an estimate, costing farmers Tk 18 to Tk 20 per kg depending on the places. It has to be sold for at least Tk 25. If farmers sell it at Tk 25 in Kushtia and Rajbari in Dhaka, it has to be sold for Tk 40-Tk 45,” he added.
“When it was available at Tk 25 in Dhaka, the agriculture minister told me, we will stop all imports, the farmers are crying. That's the problem. When the price goes down, farmers are unhappy. On the other hand, when the price rises again, consumers are unhappy,” he mentioned.
