Refiners are set to raise the price of sugar from February 1, their second hike in three months, as the higher price of unrefined sugar in the global market and depreciation of taka continue to push up their production costs.

Riazul Haque, manager of a wholesale rice shop in the capital’s Mirpur, usually goes to Kachukhet kitchen market with Tk 500 every Friday.

The government will buy 2.75 crore litres of Soybean oil from local suppliers for Tk 184-186 per litre.

Expressing resentment over the hike in rice prices despite high yields of paddy, the parliamentary standing committee on agriculture ministry yesterday asked senior officials of the agriculture ministry to identify and take action against those responsible.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has extended the scope for traders to import rice at reduced tariff by three months to March 31 next year to facilitate increased supply of the staple food and contain its prices in the local market.

The sale of essentials at subsidised prices under the OMS programme has been halted in Lalmonirhat and Kurigram since Thursday, putting several thousand poor families in distress.

The Directorate of National Consumers Right Protection has identified seven reasons behind the price hike and shortage of sugar, including gas crisis, not mentioning price in sales invoices and complications in opening letters of credit.

Sugar has become dearer with prices going up by Tk 15 a kg at retail markets as millers cut supplies blaming insufficient gas flow at refineries.

The government yesterday increased the retail price of sugar by Tk 6 a kg citing high import costs due to dollars getting dearer.

Refiners yesterday slashed retail prices of soybean oil by Tk 14 a litre as its prices in the international market dropped and the government kept the reduced Value Added Tax (VAT) on it.

Whenever the price of a commodity increases in the local market, the traders and wholesalers have the readymade excuse of a price hike in the international market. But a recent study by an intelligence agency found their justification to be unsubstantiated.

Bangladesh Competition Commission has filed 44 cases against a host of individuals and organisations, accusing them of creating an artificial crisis that led to abnormal hikes in prices of items like rice, flour, eggs, poultry and toiletries.

After over two weeks of deliberation, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi yesterday said the prices of rice, lentil, flour, onion and five other daily essentials should be fixed by the agricultural ministry, not the commerce ministry.

Prices of eggs, rice, vegetables and flour have risen in the capital’s kitchen markets again, increasing the burden on those with limited incomes.  

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi yesterday said the government will fix the prices of nine basic commodities within the next seven days to check the irrational price hike of essentials in the local markets.

India’s imposition of 20 percent duty on rice export is unlikely to affect prices of the staple in Bangladesh, according to local traders.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today (September 1, 2022) reiterated her call to the countrymen to put concentration on boosting food production, savings and showing austerity in all stages in the wake of global crisis.

The government today starts selling rice at subsidised prices in an effort to give respite to the poor and low-income earners and bring stability to the volatile rice market.

The fuel price should have been left as it is instead of the Tk 5 cut per litre, which is unlikely to have any visible impact, said Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, energy adviser to the prime minister.

The government is going to fix the prices of several commodities, including rice, lentil and flour, to check price manipulation by unscrupulous traders in the local market.