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Ramadan Price Spike

'Profiteers’ slammed

Staff Correspondent
Bangladesh Tariff Commission Chairman M Mozibur Rahman yesterday took a swipe at the business community for hiking the prices of essential commodities ahead of Ramadan.
During the holy month, he said, businessmen make 50 to 100 percent profit on all essentials except edible
FROM PAGE 1 oil and sugar.
Mozibur was addressing a view-exchange meeting on commodity prices at the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) auditorium in the capital.
Speaking at the meeting, organised by DCCI, businessmen said many of them are selling items counting losses. The prices of ginger and garlic have gone up due to complexities over import duties on the spices in the current budget.
They, however, admitted that they are selling some items such as lentils at “a bit higher” prices.
At the meeting, the Tariff Commission chair m a n presented profit margins item by item. He said a kilogram of ginger costs Tk 37, but the item is being sold for Tk75.
The price of imported onions should beTk 14 to Tk 15 a kg, but it is being sold for Tk25,hesaid.
The import cost of dates is Tk 58 a kg whereas the item is being sold forTk 100.
Businessmen are making a profit of Tk 43 on a kg of lentils, Mozibur said. "It is profiteering and must be stopped."
He likened the practice of hiking prices abnormally to sucking people's blood.
Pleading with businessmen, he said: "Please, do not do business to make abnormally high profits. It is irreligious."
Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry President AK Azad called for efforts to stop the use of formalin in fruits, strengthen market monitoring and cut bank interest rates on loans for imports of agricultural items.
He said there is no possibility of a price spiral ahead as there are adequate stocks of essentials in the country.
Abul Hossain Mian, director general of National Consumers Rights Protection Directorate, said the directorate will soon have the required manpower to strengthen market monitoring.
He said the directorate will open its offices at district level gradually.
The director general emphasised the need for raising public awareness about the consumers' rights protection act and its proper implementation.
DCCI President Asif Ibrahim said the main rea-
sons for the price spiral of essentials are price hike in energy, power and gas; increased transportation costs due to traffic congestion; a tendency to make extra profits by middlemen; high bank interest rates; lack of information regarding food slocks; mismanagement in preservation; and lack of skills and transparency.
He stressed the importance of strong market monitoring and proper implementation of the consumers’ rights protection act as well as strengthening the Trading Go rpo ra t i on of Bangladesh.
Ibrahim urged the government to take steps to prevent extortion in the highway transportation, establishing sales centres under government control and ensuring a proper distribution system.
Niaz Rahim, president of Bangladesh Supermarket Owners Association, Kh Babul, general secretary of Agro Products Importer Association, and Ali Zaman, president of Small and Medium Enterprise Association, also spoke.