Commerce minister urges DCs support to stabilise commodity prices

Commerce Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir today (4 May) said that he had sought cooperation from District Commissioners (DC) to monitor the market to keep prices stable.

Speaking to reporters after a session in the DC conference at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in Dhaka, he said the government has asked local administrators to increase monitoring and play a more effective role in stabilising commodity prices in the coming days.

The session involved the ministries of commerce, industries, and textiles and jute.

Muktadir noted that the discussions focused on how the administration and the elected government could work in coordination to ensure the effective implementation of measures to drive the country forward.

The minister highlighted the significant gap between producer prices and retail prices, particularly in agricultural products. He pointed out that no integrated initiative had been developed for market management over the last 50-55 years.

He said the government is now working on an AI-based model to oversee the entire supply chain from import stage to retail sales, allowing continuous monitoring of market conditions.

The minister also announced plans to establish strategic reserves of imported goods such as oil and sugar.

“At present, we lack adequate storage facilities. We want to ensure that we are not dependent on a handful of suppliers. In any emergency, the government should have one to two months’ stock of essential goods like oil and sugar. That would also prevent price manipulation,” he said.

Muqtadir further revealed that the government intends to transfer all state-owned textile and jute mills to the private sector.

He said discussions had taken place with the prime minister earlier in the day, adding that out of 25 textile mills and 25 jute mills, several have already been leased out and the rest will be handed over soon.