The commerce ministry has started drafting amendments to Pakistan-era essential commodities law, saying the old law is inadequate for monitoring markets.
The law -- Control of Essential Commodities Act, 1956 (East Pakistan Act) -- was broad, and many clauses are now outdated because Bangladesh has created numerous ministries, departments, and organisations since independence, Commerce Secretary Mahbubur Rahman said yesterday.
For example, the old law gave the commerce ministry control over cotton, yarn, biscuits, rayon, and food items. However, over the years, separate ministries, departments, and organisations have taken over the responsibility of regulating and monitoring these markets, he added.
The government has already set up the Bangladesh Competition Commission and the Directorate of National Consumers' Rights Protection to monitor commodity markets and prices.
Additionally, the ministry plans to update the definition of hoarding of essential commodities to prevent dishonest traders from creating artificial shortages and hiking prices, which harm consumers.
"The ministry is drafting the amendment, and the first inter-ministerial meeting on it was held at the ministry in Dhaka today (Wednesday)," Mahbubur Rahman added.
After the meeting, he said the commerce ministry convened edible oil traders, association leaders, and millers yesterday to discuss soybean oil price fixing.
Traders had raised soybean oil prices by Tk 10 per litre above the government-purchased rate meant for sale through the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB).
Commerce Adviser Sk Bashir Uddin told journalists that the ministry was not informed about the price hike beforehand. "I learned of the increase only half an hour before it was implemented," he said.
He noted that the government had recently procured around 50 lakh litres of soybean oil, yet the current retail price is Tk 10 higher than what the government paid. "If we can buy through tender at a lower rate, why is the retail market paying so much more?" he asked.
The adviser said the companies' actions had no legal basis and that there was "no logical reason" for a Tk 10-per-litre jump in the retail market. "If there is any logical reason for the price hike, we are happy to discuss," he added, noting that prices had also been raised illogically in the past, but the ministry did not act then.
He promised action after an urgent review with industry stakeholders and warned that the government would take legal measures against the wrongdoers.
Replying to journalists' questions, he assured that preparations for Ramadan are going well and that essential commodity supplies will remain stable.
