The government Sunday approved the import of green chillies to cool the overheated price of the hot spice, which hits record highs of over Tk 400 a kilogram amid kitchen-market waywardness.
"Also, the government will waive import duties on green chillies to facilitate import," Agriculture Minister Amin Ur Rashid said.
The announcement came during a flying visit to Shantinagar Kitchen Market in Dhaka, where the agriculture minister, commerce minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir and state minister for food Md Abdul Bari inspected the market situation.
Earlier in the day, the three ministers attended a meeting at the Secretariat to review the overall market situation for essential food and agricultural commodities and decided on necessary measures to stabilise prices and ensure adequate supplies.
After the meeting was over, the ministers drove out for a spot visit to the Shantinagar Kitchen Market to monitor the supply and prices of essential commodities. Dhaka South City Corporation Administrator Md Abdus Salam was also present during the market monitoring.
The ministers spoke with traders and consumers to assess the availability, prices and overall market conditions of essential commodities. Speaking to reporters after the visit, the agriculture minister said the government had taken prompt measures to stabilise green-chilli prices.
He said the existing import duty on green chillies would be withdrawn and import permission had already been granted.
"Import will begin Monday, and we expect green-chilli prices to come down to a tolerable level within the next two to five days," he said. Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir said the government would take all necessary measures to keep the market affordable for consumers.
Addressing journalists, he said: "Please present an objective picture of what you observe on the ground. This will help raise public awareness, reduce misinformation and prevent anyone from creating an artificial shortage or manipulating prices."
Meanwhile, green-chilli prices climbed to a record Tk 380-400 a kg this year, with traders attributing the sharp increase to persistent rainfall and flooding in several major chilli-growing districts.
