One of the market monitoring teams formed by the Commerce Ministry has recommended that the authorities concerned should monitor the market without magistrates and police protection to get the real picture of kitchen markets.
The monitoring team made its suggestion on Thursday after monitoring kitchen market at New Market and Palassey Bazar. Earlier, the Commerce Ministry had formed 14 teams to monitor the kitchen markets in the capital during the month of Ramadan.
Traders, especially, retailers reduced the prices of essentials when the market monitoring team visited the markets with police protection, said a member of the monitoring team.
He said the actual prices of essentials were not quoted during the kitchen market observation by the monitoring team. “As a result, market monitoring does not work at all.”
The monitoring team found that the retailers were unaware of rules and regulations. So, the monitoring team should distribute leaflets among the retailers to make them aware of the rules and regulations. Without police protection, monitoring teams will be able to easily motivate the traders for not raising prices of essentials, the memmber said.
He added that the retailers were not maintaining the original vouchers for purchasing essential commodities and monitoring team also found vouchers without signature and mobile phone numbers.
The monitoring team also suggested launching a campaign through the internet and television channels as to how traders will fix the prices of essentials during Ramadan.
Beef was selling at over Tk300 per kg against Tk280 fixed by the city corporation for the month of Ramadan.
The price of Najirshail rice might go up within a couple of days and the monitoring team saw a hike in the prices of potato, green chilli, flour and onion in the two kitchen markets.
Najirshail rice sold at Tk55 per kilogram yesterday while a week ago, it was Tk48. The price of per kilogram potato (white) increased from Tk20 to Tk28 and that of potato (red) from Tk35 to Tk40.
Green chilli was selling at Tk80 per kg while a week ago it was Tk50. Per kg lentil was selling at Tk110 while a week ago it was Tk80. In the two kitchen markets, sugar sold at Tk48 per kg while a week ago it was only Tk40.
The price of chickpea selling at Tk55 per kg remained stable. The price of a five-litre can of Rupchanda soybean oil sold at Tk560 and Tk550, but the mark-up price is Tk 570. As a result, potential buyers get confused over the prices of Rupchanda soybean oil, according to the monitoring team.
Commerce Secretary Mahbub Ahmed told the Dhaka Tribune that if the prices of essentials remain stable in the markets, they do not want to deploy police for monitoring the market during the month of Ramadan. “We are considering the suggestions made by the monitoring team,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Directorate of the National Consumer Rights Protection which is under the ministry had intensified its ongoing market monitoring drive during Ramadan.
