& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Traders come under fire for price hike

Star Business Report
Two ministers yesterday came down heavily on businessmen for the soaring prices of essentials.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith urged consumers to be vocal against syndicates formed by a few businessmen.
"The government itself is embarrassed about such a syndicate.... The consumers will have to be united against them," he told journalists after an inter-ministry meeting on revenue stamps at the finance ministry.
Meanwhile, Commerce Minister Faruk Khan blasted the businessmen for charging the essentials high.
While speaking at the launch of a journal at the National Press Club Khan said he is in dilemma over what to do since a drive by the past caretaker government against unscrupulous businessmen had mounted people's sufferings.
AMA Muhith said the government is pondering over how the price spiral can be checked.
Denying any failure to contain the price spiral, the finance minister said the government has intervened in the market when there is a scope. Following the rise in the prices of chicken and egg, the government announced imports of those items, the minister pointed out.
He pointed to the fact that there is no supply side problem and said some dishonest businessmen in a bid to maximise their profit are increasing commodity prices.
However, he said before Ramadan prices of some commodities went up but prices of no basic commodity like rice and edible oil increased.
Muhith blasted the media for 'too-much publicising' the price spiral issue.
Listing various government steps for market stability, the finance minister said the commerce minister is busy with the issue.
Referring to Food Minister Dr Abdur Razzaque who recently attributed the high prices of essentials to extortion, the finance minister expressed his different view. Muhith said extortion has dropped.
At the function marking the launch of 'The Journal on Business and Technology' by the Institute of Science and Technolog}', Commerce Minister Faruk Khan explained the reason for not taking stringent measures against the unscrupulous traders.
"If we act tough on unscrupulous businessmen, they will stop business and import, resulting in a crisis of commodities in the market," he said.
"For example, you can now buy one kilogram of aubergine at Tk 60 which actually costs Tk 20-Tk 40. But if we take action against the profiteers you won't find any aubergine in the market,” Khan added.
About soybean oil. he said its price a litre should not be over Tk 78 and padm oil over Tk 65 since import prices of these edible oils areTk 71 and palm oil Tk 57.
He also said presently the country has a stock of 2.5 lakh tonnes of edible oil.
The minister alleged that businessmen always look to international market to hike prices although the new price would take more than one month to impact the local market.
At the function, the minister also urged the researchers of the journal to research on how the government could arrest price hike of essentials.
Khan also found a role of media to increase commodity prices in the domestic market and urged not to create panic among people.