Dhaka Bureau: For the first time, to control the market, the government has fixed the prices of three agricultural products. They are potatoes, native onions, and eggs. From now on, the fixed price of each farm egg will be Tk 12; potatoes at the retail level will be Tk 35 to Tk 36; and domestic onion prices will be Tk 64 to Tk 65. Commerce Minister Tipu Munishi announced this price in a press conference at the Secretariat on Thursday (September 14).
He said that the officials of the National Directorate of Consumer Rights Protection, the District and Upazila Administration, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock will work in the field to monitor whether these products are being sold at the fixed price. Anyone who violates this will be punished according to the law. A press conference was organized to announce the decisions of the meeting to review the production, demand, and price situation of essential agricultural products.
The Minister of Commerce said that, in light of the recommendation of the Ministry of Agriculture, the maximum retail price of potatoes has been fixed at Tk 35–36 and the maximum retail price of domestic onions at Tk 64–65. On the other hand, according to the information of the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, the price of each egg has been fixed at Tk 12. Apart from this, the price of packaged cottonseed oil and open cottonseed oil has been reduced by Tk 5 to Tk 169 and Tk 149, respectively, and the price of palm oil has been reduced by Tk 4 to Tk 124.
Tipu Munshi said that the prices of these products have been determined by taking into consideration the cost and profit at the producer, wholesale, and retail levels. No one gets hurt here. Strict action will be taken against anyone illegally stocking goods for a higher profit. He said that if the price of eggs is fixed and not sold in the market, then we will allow the import of eggs. Permission will be given in limited form at first. However, if the prices are not controlled, there will be massive imports. He said that the ministry has received several applications for the import of eggs. In response to a question from journalists, the minister said that the Directorate of Consumer Rights Protection will start operations today. Besides, strict instructions will be given to all district commissioners and concerned departmental and district-level officials to sell products at fixed prices.
Mobile courts will be conducted all over the country, and punishment will be given according to the law. In response to another question from journalists about the export of hilsa to India, Tipu Munshi said that hilsa is not exported to India throughout the year. A small amount of what is produced in the country is exported as a greeting gift to Indian Bengalis on the occasion of Puja. Asked how much would be exported, he said not more than four to five thousand tons.
Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce Tapan Kanti Ghosh, Secretary of Agriculture Wahida Akhter, Director General of Trade and Tariff Commission, and Directorate General of Consumer Affairs were present in the press conference.
