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Quantity limit on packed consumer goods irks makers

Jasim Uddin Khan
A government decision to make a specific ceiling for the quantity in retail packs instead of a fraction amount evoked huge reaction among consumer product manufacturers.
Such manufacturers have been asked to follow a statutory regulatory order (SRO) made by the Ministry of Industries from July 1, which says all makers of consumer goods, ranging from juice to flour, sugar, edible oil and salt, are to put round figures in the product packs.
The ministry sources said it brought an amendment to the Standards of Weights and Measures Ordinance XU of 1982 in order to restrain manufacturers from deceiving retailers.
Although the amendment, was made on January 18, 2007 I with an aim to implement it from January 1, 2008, later the ministry stayed the execution of the order until June 30,2008.
The producers from the first day of the next month will have to make a specific amount of goods and paste the quantity of the produce on packs, such as 100, 150 200, 250, 500, 750 milligram or milliliter and 1 kg, 2 kg, 15 kg etc.
PRAN Foods Ltd Managing Director Major General Amjad Khan Chowdhury (rtd) said implementation of the decision will harm the agricultural product industry which supplies packs with a very small
amount of product.
"Some of our products carry a few grams. Marking round figures of the weight of the products packed will be harmful for the such first moving consumer goods industry and sometime it could be impossible to us,"
He said many manufactures have imported cosdy Tetrapak machines for 30, 65, 125 gram or millilitre small packs, which will be lying unusable if the new order is enforced.
Mahbub Jamil, the special assistant to the chief adviser for industries, warned against any lapses in manufacturers' compliance with the new rule. He said the government is firm to protect the consumers' products.
He, however, assured the manufactures that the issue might be reviewed if the committee formed by the government recommends to do so.
Another top official of a leading consumer product
industry said when Bangladeshi consumers have limitations in their buying capacity and individual consumption, setting such specific quantity will hamper the growth of the industry.
The SRO also asked the manufacturers to mention some information like name of the producing company, detail address, ingredient, date of production and expiry and batch number in Bengali. jasim@thedailystar.net