As they tossed corrective measures against unusual price hike, Commerce Advisor Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman (Thursday) said that the government felt little bit relieved as the prices of edible oils took a downturn on the local market, reports UNB.

He expressed this comfort after a meeting on prices of essentials with the chiefs of different government bodies, including NBR, BDR, Bangladesh Bank and the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) at the Commerce Ministry.

Eminent economist and former Advisor Professor Wahiduddin Mahmud, who was present as an invited guest at the meeting, advised the government to introduce rationing system for society''s limited and low-income groups to ensure their access to food at affordable prices.

The Commerce Advisor said that the meeting reviewed the measures so far taken by the government to contain the prices of essentials.

He noted that the government would strengthen the market-monitoring system under which it would continuously review and analyse import prices of goods and their selling prices on the local markets.

"We''ll regularly do stocktaking of the import and selling prices," he said, adding that such practice has already started delivering the goods, particularly in the case of overpriced edible oils.

"The edible oil prices came down from Tk 120 to Tk 105, and the government feels comfort." He mentioned that lot of changes are taking place on the international market.

"So, we have to change our policy to adjust with the international market," he said. He said the government would take step to forecast the prices of different essentials as part of market monitoring.

Already steps are being taken about the production and import prices of lentils. From now on, he said, a regular information package would be broadcast on radio and television on a daily basis during newscasts.

Similarly, Bangladesh Bank would sit with the banks to review the 12 percent cap margin regarding the import of essential goods. Likewise, the Bangladesh Rifle will sit with the importers to review the prices on the local markets.

Professor Wahiduddin Mahmud suggested that the government should specially think about the limited and low-income groups of society living in the rural as well as urban areas.

The food-distribution programme under VGF and VGD cards should be widened in the rural areas and a system like rationing should be introduced in the urban areas for people like class-three government employees, garment workers, day labourers.

Regarding price control, he said it has to be strictly monitored as to how much price is increasing on the international market and also on the local market and how much profit the traders do in their business.

"There has to be a balance between the business and the profit," he said. Side by side, he recommended a moral pressure be put on the traders through stocktaking-and "special measures are not unusual under state of emergency".

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