The parliamentary panel on commerce ministry on Sunday said it found the price situation in retail markets stable but called for strengthening the state-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh to increase supply of commodities in the market.
The committee observed that price situation was stable but the measures government has taken to keep the prices under control were not enough.
'We monitored the retail markets and found prices were stable.
Usually prices shot up after announcement of the budget but this time there was no such price hike,' said the committee chairman Abul Kashem.
Kashem said the committee at its meeting on Sunday asked the government to strengthen the TCB and expressed satisfaction at prime minister's approval for allocating the corporation Tk 1,000 crore for importing essential items.
He said the committee also laid stress on the corporation's infrastructure and suggested construction of multi-storied buildings at the present sites of the corporation's dilapidated buildings.
The committee expressed satisfaction at the preparations of the TCB to meet market demands for commodities during the holy month of Ramadan.
TCB has already opened letters of credits (LC) to import goods and the committee expected prices would remain within people's reach, he said.
Kashem added that the TCB had also decided to increase dealers at upazila levels to ensure smooth supply of goods in the market.
The 29th meeting of the committee was also attended by commerce minister Faruk Khan and lawmakers Rumana Mahmud and Tipu Munshi.
Source : New Age
