The government will start open market sale (OMS) of whole-wheat flour packets across the country from October 1, Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder said on Tuesday.
The process of packaging whole-wheat flour for OMS has already started, he said at the BSRF Dialogue, organized by Bangladesh Secretariat Reporters Forum (BSRF) at the Secretariat.
“Packed whole-wheat flour may cost a little more. However, it will be sold at half the price of the flour that is being sold in the market,” he added.
“We will allocate one ton of whole-wheat flour per day to dealers in districts and city corporations for sale from October 1,” said the minister.
Besides, the shipping of imported wheat has also started, he added.
The food minister said the OMS activities will be carried out throughout the year to monitor the market.
He also said strict monitoring activities are being carried out to break syndicates in the rice market.
“There will be no rice called Miniket in the market. A consumer rights campaign is already underway against the sale of this rice,” he said.
“From now on, the name of the rice variety must be mentioned on the sack,” said the minister, adding that the draft law in this regard has been sent to the cabinet.
Besides, he said the amount of rice grain that can be cut will also be determined by that law.
Traders will not be able to manipulate if the law is implemented, he added.
The dialogue was presided over by BSRF president Tapan Biswas and moderated by general secretary Masudul Hoque.
