The government has initiated a move to devise an information database regarding the demand-supply positions of some selected essential commodities that would help keep the prices stable in the local markets. Simultaneously, it has taken up measures including launching of open market sales (OMS) and withdrawal of entire customs duties on imports of rice and wheat to help check the current hike in the prices of some essential items.

The official said a high-profile committee, headed by an additional secretary of the Commerce Ministry, has already been formed to update the statistics of the essential items. The main tasks of the committee are to prepare comprehensive reports on the country’s demand and supply patterns of some essential items including rice, wheat, edible oil, sugar, pulses and selective spices. Availability of such items at the local level and their price structures will also be taken into account in the database.

On the other hand, the import figures of those commodities will be available from the banking systems, especially from the Bangladesh Bank. The Commerce Ministry official said the committee is to place its report to the ministry shortly. According to the official, the current move to prepare an information database on essential commodities has been initiated to help the government oversee the market situation.

Sometimes, the authorities find themselves in a difficult situation to take appropriate measurers to check the price escalation of essential items mainly due to lack of necessary information database. Although the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) compiles the figures of many essential commodities, those are not sufficient to serve the current purpose. The authorities have taken up the move to collect the information against the backdrop of the current upward trends in the prices of different commodities in the market.

Prices of different essential items including rice, flour, onion, edible oil, milk-food items and pulses have gone up considerably in the market over the past few weeks.