Business leaders Wednesday urged the government to make it clear how much of stock of food and other essentials will be considered as hoarding, reports agency.

“We aren’t hoarders. The government will have to make it clear how much stock is hoarding. The country’s businesspeople don’t want to live under the specter of fear,” Annisul Huq, president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber and Industry (FBCCI), said.

He was responding to a volley of questions from journalists after a closed-door meeting with Director General of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) Major General Shakil Ahmed at the FBCCI conference room.

The meeting was held as the BDR DG came to address the launching ceremony of an FBCCI-sponsored price monitoring cell, which is likely to start work within the next four weeks.

Talking about hoarding, the BDR DG said hoarding is a crime, but one thing should be made clear that stock is not hoarding. “If the stock of any food is made for trading, then it would not come under the ambit of hoarding.”

The business leaders present during the open session expressed resentment over the government’s reported practice to call in the BDR high-ups and fix the prices of essentials, including edible oil.

Fazlur Rahman, a leading whole-seller, said the government should not try to fix prices putting pressure on the businessmen as Bangladesh still has to depend on imports.

The BDR DG suggested the government to revise the rice procurement policy as what he said small and marginal farmers cannot sell their rice to the government under the current procurement policy.

“The small farmers should be allowed to sell their rice directly to the government procurement centres. If the government-fixed present rate for rice procurement do not benefit the farmers, then I suggest the government to revise its procurement policy immediately,” The BDR DG also warned that the price hike on the international market and the recent damage of crops in Myanmar by cyclone Nargis might have a negative impact on rice price in Bangladesh despite the bumper boro output.

He laid emphasis on private-public partnership in tackling the overheated market saying that the government is a minor player when it comes to the market prices.

Major Shakil described the present situation as alarming because 72-80 percent people have to spend 80 percent of their incomes on food purchase due to the price surge.

FBCCI president Annisul Huq informed the journalists that their price monitoring cell will work under a taskforce.

The taskforce, comprising representatives from government’s various ministries and law-enforcing agencies, will work to gather information about production and demand of food and prices on the international market etc.

The FBCCI president urged the businessmen to provide authentic and timely information relating to the prices of essentials so that the government can take effective measures to check the price hike of daily essentials.