Commerce’s 43 monitoring teams fall short of curbing soaring prices

Business Desk :
With the formation of eight new market monitoring teams in February, the Ministry of Commerce now has a total of 43 teams operating in the capital city of Dhaka.
These teams comprise representatives from various ministries and government agencies, including the two Dhaka city corporations, and are tasked with monitoring wholesale and retail markets, updating supply and demand data, and identifying instances of price manipulation.
In addition, the teams have the authority to take legal action against unscrupulous traders and businessmen through on-the-spot mobile courts.
Despite these efforts, consumer rights experts and even ministry officials remain sceptical about the outcome.
Besides, performance evaluation sources also note that soaring prices of essential items continue to bite people, and market raids by the monitoring teams have yet to curb the price hikes.
With the month of Ramadan – a period of fasting for Muslims – approaching, fears of further price increases persist.
In response, a high official of the commerce ministry has stated that the government intends to keep a close eye on the price situation and ensure that the prices of essential items remain within the reach of the common people.
Referring to key essential items demonstrating price upticks in Dhaka markets, consumer rights experts, however, say the monitoring teams failed to play the role properly and keep the prices at a tolerable level.
No visible impact was noticed with regard to prices of some key items, especially rice and onions, in recent times despite efforts by the monitoring teams, they said.
“We often sit to evaluate the activities of the teams monitoring the markets in the capital,” a senior official of the commerce ministry told the FE.
“We direct the teams to be more careful about their duties throughout the year,” noted the official, claiming that the prices of essential commodities remain stable due to steps taken by the government.