The Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP) has mandated that Indian-imported potatoes be sold at Tk 40-45 per kilogram in a major wholesale market in the capital.
This decision was enforced during an inspection conducted by the directorate on Sunday afternoon, led by Assistant Director of DNCRP Md. Abdul Jabbar Mandal.
The background of this regulation is tied to efforts to curb rising prices. On September 5, the interim government reduced import tariffs on essential commodities, including potatoes and onions, to stabilize prices.
Despite these efforts and the arrival of Indian potatoes, prices remained high. As a result, the DNCRP has been active in monitoring the market.
During the inspection at Shyambazar, officials found that traders were mislabeling Indian potatoes as local varieties and selling them at inflated prices, ranging from Tk 55 to 56 per kilogram. By the time these potatoes reached consumers, the price further escalated to Tk 70 or more. There were also inconsistencies in maintaining proper receipts and price lists. When asked for official receipts, traders claimed that they did not receive them from suppliers.
The officials confronted a supplier, who admitted that selling potatoes at Tk 40-45 per kilogram would still be profitable.
Subsequently, Jabbar Mandal announced via loudspeaker that potatoes must be sold at the reduced price of tk 40-45 per kilogram. Customers immediately began purchasing potatoes at the regulated price. Penalties were also issued: a wholesale shop owner and a supplier were fined Tk 25,000 each for consumer rights violations, such as not providing proper cash memos and failing to display accurate price lists.
Further inspections of three other wholesale shops led to directives to sell potatoes at tk 40-45 per kilogram and each was fined Tk 10,000, totaling Tk 30,000 in penalties.
Abdul Jabbar Mandal explained that although there is an ample supply of Indian potatoes in the market, traders were selling them as local potatoes under labels like Munshiganj, Bogura, or Joypurhat, with prices as high as Tk 62 per kilogram. "Our investigation revealed that the potatoes being sold are Indian," he noted.
"The suppliers themselves confirmed that a price of tk 40 per kilogram would still yield a profit. Therefore, the mislabeling and price inflation warranted action. Following our intervention, traders corrected the price lists and began selling potatoes at the regulated rate, which we ensured by announcing the new prices to consumers," he said.
The director emphasized, "The expectation is that the market price of local potatoes, which had surged, will decrease significantly due to the sufficient supply of cheaper Indian potatoes."
