Concerned over supply shocks of food and energy in particular, an emergency inter-ministerial meeting charts fiscal and monitoring measures to manage the volatile market.
Five ministries of home, commerce, agriculture, land, and power, energy and mineral resources sat Sunday to discuss the present soaring prices of some key essentials and finding ways to rein in the galloping costs of commodities, said sources.
Meanwhile, the authorities struggle to control flow of consumers before the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) and the Directorate General of Food (DGoF)-run OMS trucks in the capital city despite a raise in allocations amid price spiraling of essentials in mainstream markets, say insiders.
"We are working out to keep prices static through removing tax and VAT on essential commodities," Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said at the inter-ministerial coordination meeting on essentials' price, held at the secretariat.
He says the government is concerned that there might be a supply crunch for wheat due to the conflict between the two key exporters of the cereal-Russia and Ukraine.
"We will make a way out to keep supply of wheat and rice static despite the obstacle," he adds.
"The importers are being encouraged to raise imports of commodities to maintain a sound supply chain," he further says about the action plan to manage the exigencies.
Mr Kamal also mentioned that there is a possibility of supply crunch of electricity during the month of Ramadan, set to start in the first week of April, amid disruption to delivery of diesel and gas.
Ministries concerned will work on it for uninterrupted electricity supply during Ramadan.
The home minister warns that stern action will be taken against those who will be found involved in illegal hoarding of essential items
Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi told the meet that the prices of edible oils had been increasing for illegal hoarding by unscrupulous traders.
"A taskforce will start to work to prevent any illegal hoarding of commodities," he says.
He announces that allocation for OMS programme will further be increased to help maximise beneficiaries.
He mentions that the TCB has taken a programme to give essential commodity at subsidised rate to 10 million people.
"The government is working hard to make edible-oil market steady as soon as possible," he apprised the meeting.
Agriculture Minister Dr Muhammad Abdur Razzaque, Land Minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid, cabinet secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam, Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed also spoke, among others, in the meeting.
Meanwhile, hardship of consumers as well as chaos in many places were marking the open-market sale (OMS) of essentials by TCB and DGoF as crowds of low-and middle-income groups surge to its peak for sourcing subsidised products.
In many places TCB trucks also faced difficulties for a row with ward councilor offices over the parking OMS trucks, say insiders.
Moreover, more than half of the people before the OMS queues of TCB and DGoF have to go home empty-handed as supply of products run out within 2:00pm in many places, say city-dwellers.
Shayera Khanom, at Rayerbazar, had stood in queue for five hours behind the TCB truck on Sunday.
Shayera, who works as a domestic help, stood in the line from 9:00 in the morning but got her serial at 2:00 pm when supply of edible oil, pulses and sugar exhausted.
"The truck was just offering onion at the time, what would I do with just onion!" rued the mother of three children.
"Income of both of my husband and mine declined after the beginning of the pandemic which has made life most difficult in the city in last two years," she says.
She used to work in four houses in 2019 but now has work only in two homes.
"My husband is a helper of a leguna (a four-wheeler that carries passenger in a short distance), his daily salary also got reduced in 2020, which hasn't been adjusted yet," she says.
However, rickshaw-puller Meraj Ali was lucky. He got oil, sugar, pulses and onions from TCB truck on the day but he had to stand before the queue at 5:00 am on the day.
He says it is unthinkable for a family like his to buy edible oils at Tk 160-170 a litre.
TCB official Humayun Kabir says the Corporation has raised its OMS truck to 150 from 75 in Dhaka city.
He said every consumer could buy two litres of soybean oil at Tk 110 a litre, two kgs of sugar at Tk 55 per kg, lentil two kgs at Tk 60 per kg, onion three to five kgs at Tk 30 a kg.
"Every truck can provide products to maximum 250 consumers when the number of people before the queue increased above five hundred every day."
Mr Humayun also says that TCB dealers are facing difficulties in many wards for arguments with the councilor offices over parking place.
Kamal Hossain, an employee of a grocery, went to the line before the food ministry OMS truck at Adabar in the city which was selling rice and coarse flour (aata) at subsidised rate.
The Directorate General of Food (DGoF)-run OMS truck in the city were selling rice at Tk 30 a kg and packet aata at Tk 23 a kg when their market prices are minimum Tk 52 and Tk 45 a kg in the mainstream market. Every person is allowed to purchase five kgs of rice and five kgs of ata.
Kamal said he stood before the line at 10:30 pm and got serial at 3:30 pm when supply of products was finished.
Deputy Director of DGoF (supply, distribution) Afif Al Mahmud Bhuiyan said OMS trucks in the city have been increased to 30 from 20 earlier in order to cope with the rush.
Every truck is selling 3.0-3.5 tonnes of rice and 0.5 to 1.0 tonnes of ata though mobile trucks.
He said total OMS points were 1055 in January last which increased to 1948 in recent weeks.
