CHATTOGRAM, Feb 13: A syndicate of consumer goods and food item importers has become active to create an artificial crisis during the ensuing holy month of Ramadan.
According to Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) sources, a total of 90 vessels including 40 vessels of general cargo and other food items have remained idle in the Outer Anchorage due to delay in lightering of cargo during the last few days.
CPA sources further said nearly 400 lighter vessels are floating in the Bay of Bengal loaded with various food items serving as godowns of the importers.
It is alleged that a group of importers had been using this tactics to delay unloading of cargo in an attempt to create price hike in the market particularly during the holy month of Ramadan.
According to CPA schedule, a total of 26 vessels with general cargo, 7 vessels of foodgrain, 4 vessesl of sugar and 3 vessels of Soyabean oil are waiting for unloading in the Outer Anchorage of the Chattogram Port.
Sources further said, 7 seven with over 3 lakh tonnes of wheat, one sugar vessel with 36,000 tonnes, and 3 vessels with one lakh tonne of raw sugar, 3 vessels with one lakh tonne of Soyabean oil, and 3 vessels with 67,000 tonnes of chickpea and lentils have been waiting in the Outer Anchorage.
Most of the items are food items of high demand in Ramadan.
Meanwhile, the government has taken various programmes to keep the consuners market at a reasonable level during the holy month.
At the advent of the holy month, the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) has begun the sale of five products, including chickpeas and dates, at subsidised prices.
The initiative kicked off in Dhaka and Chattogram recently.
Consumers can purchase up to two litres of edible oil, two kg of lentils, one kg of sugar, two kg of chickpeas, and 500 grams of dates from the TCB trucks.
Under the initiative, edible oil is available for Tk 100 per litre, lentils are priced at Tk 60 per kg, sugar at Tk 70 per kg, chickpeas at Tk 60 per kg, and half a kg of dates at Tk 155.
In response to the significant surge in the prices of essential goods, the TCB has been selling products through trucks at 50 locations in Dhaka and 20 in Chattogram since October 24 last year. However, the initiative was paused after December 31 the same year.
Now, after a 40-day hiatus, the TCB has resumed offering products at affordable prices.
The TCB has also introduced a system where low-income families with smart cards can purchase edible oil and pulses at subsidised rates. For those without smart cards, products are available through the truck sales.
Besides, some 80 teams of the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP) would monitor the markets across the country during the Holy Month of Ramadan in a bid to check illegal hoarding and ensuring selling of essentials at affordable prices.
