The government yesterday put ceilings on retail prices of sugar and cooking oil to curb unusual price spiral ahead of Ramadan.
From now on, maximum retail price of sugar will be Tk 65 each kilogram.
Prices of loose palm and soybean oil will be Tk 99 and Tk 109 per litre respectively, according to a decision reached at a meeting with sugar and cooking oil refiners at the commerce ministry.
''Millers have declared these rates. If anyone violates the price ceiling, action will be taken,'' said Md Mozibur Rahman, chairman of Bangladesh Tariff Commission (BTC).
The meeting, chaired by Mozibur, set the mill gate prices of sugar refiners at Tk 58-62 per kg.
The refiners will sell each litre of palm and soybean oil at Tk 93-96 and Tk 103-105 respectively at factory gates.
Prices of bottled cooking oil will be Tk 15 higher per litre than the loose product, noted the BTC chief.
Both the government and companies will monitor market prices to ensure the announced rates are followed, maintained Mozibur.
The decision coincides with a recent trend of price spiral of sugar and some other essentials in the domestic market ahead of the fasting month of Ramadan, when the consumption of these items shoots.
Sugar price increased further by Tk 1.5 per kg yesterday as a supply crunch continued due to closure of four out of six refiners and hoarding by a section of wholesalers.
However, its retail price rose to Tk 70-74 per kg from Tk 68-73 the previous day, according to data of Trading Corporation of Bangladesh.
Price of loose cooking oil also maintained upward trend during last week.
Wholesalers and retailers attributed the volatility in sugar prices to supply dearth.
''The announced prices will be on paper if supply of sugar does not rise,'' said Abul Hashem, vice-president of Bangladesh Sugar Merchants Association.
Source : The Daily Star
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