The Dhaka Times Desk The International Business Forum of Bangladesh (IBFB) organized a seminar on “Impact of syndicates and competition on commodity prices” at its office in the city's Tejgaon industrial area on Sunday afternoon.
State Minister for Commerce Ahsanul Islam Titu, MP and Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce Tapan Kanti Ghosh were present as the chief guest in the event. Professor of Economics Department of Dhaka University. Mohammad Helal Uddin Ahmed presented the keynote address and IBFB President Humayun Rashid moderated the event.
Bangladesh Competition Commission Member Hafizur Rahman, Directorate General of Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP) A.H.M. Shafikuzzaman, former secretary of the government and chairman of NBR. Muhammad Abdul Majeed, Legal Economist and IBFB Vice President M.S. Siddiqui addressed the event.
The Chief Guest State Minister for Commerce Ahsanul Islam Titu said in his speech that the stability of the market depends on the supply and demand of products and several other factors. Various problems like natural disasters, epidemics and global conflicts sometimes disrupt the market severely. However, the government takes necessary action if it detects any unethical behavior in the market.
Highlighting the government's role in helping people affected by market volatility, he said the government provides assistance to the poor through programs like TCB's family card for 10 million families.
Regarding the current onion market, the Minister of State for Commerce said that India's ban on onion exports will not affect their agreement with Bangladesh. According to the agreement, 50 thousand tons of Indian onions will gradually come to Bangladesh. Our onions from India have already boarded the train which will arrive in two or three days via the Darshana route.
The main presenter. Mohammad Helal Uddin Ahmed said, there are major complaints about market syndication - the government is trying to solve them. Actually there is a difference between price level and price fluctuation, since people's income does not increase proportionally with price fluctuation, they are concerned with changes in price level.
He suggested an improved supply chain, proper storage of agricultural produce and agro-processing, increased scope for digital transactions to prevent market manipulation.
According to the keynote, trends in the global food price index since 2000 revealed that it has increased roughly 3 times for the world, while it has increased 5 times for Bangladesh. That means changes in food price levels are generally driven by macroeconomic events.
Mr. Tapan Kanti Ghosh said formalization of markets, mechanisms to check market imperfections and reduce information gaps are essential. He said measures like policing and price fixing do not work in market dynamics especially for agricultural products.
Throwing light on the activities of IBFB, its president Mr. Humayun Rashid said, it has been a tradition for a long time that the prices of daily necessities increase during Ramadan. Prices of many commodities including sugar, soybean oil, rice, potatoes, dates have increased significantly in the last few years.
Identifying some of the challenges, he suggested ensuring strong coordination between the concerned ministries to control black money invested in the commodity market, prevent extortion, improve supply chain, distribution system and prevent syndication and stabilize the market.
Hafizur Rahman, a member of Bangladesh Competition Commission, said that all price increases are not the result of market syndication. There are many reasons behind the price increase. There have been various changes in the country's taxation system while prices have increased due to volatility in foreign currency exchange rates. BCC has taken some action against syndicates or any malpractice detected to destabilize the market.
DNCRP's Shafikuzzaman said some economic theories apparently do not work in Bangladesh's commodity market. There is a strong need to educate consumer behavior. Also availability of data on market demand and production of various products is essential.
Dr. Muhammad Abdul Majeed said that research should be done to measure the impact of tax on the change in tax rate 6 months before the imposition of tax. Despite the increase in duty, the imported fruit is selling well, which indicates the capacity of consumers. In fact income inequality is now a major problem for the country.
MS Siddiqui said money supply, economic growth, exchange rate and syndication are some of the common reasons for price increase. The concept of market economy is not without flaws due to the wrong definition of syndication. He also emphasized the need to dive deeper into the country's market dynamics to determine the reasons behind abnormal market prices.
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How to prevent dengue
Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral fever. This fever is different from other viral or bacterial fevers. However, this fever is not contagious in any way. This viral fever can occur alone or in combination with other viruses (chikungunya, yellow fever, Burma forest, flu, respiratory syncytial) and bacteria (pneumococcus).
Dengue fever is divided into two categories depending on the severity of symptoms and fever.
1. Common dengue fever
2. Dengue fever with bleeding.
In the case of common dengue fever, the following symptoms are mainly seen-
1. Sudden high fever lasting 2 to 7 days.
2. Severe headache.
3. Pain behind the eyes.
4. Along with the fever, red rash appears all over the body.
5. Severe pain in whole body as well as back pain.
6. Nausea or vomiting.
7. A rash or red bumps on the skin.
In case of dengue fever with bleeding:
1. Bleeding from nose, mouth or vomiting with high fever within 2 to 48 hours.
2. Fluid accumulation in chest or abdomen along with fever.
If any of these symptoms appear, seek medical attention immediately.
On the other hand
Wait at home for the first 3 days of fever. On the other hand, sponge the whole body with water every now and then. This will reduce the level of fever. Drink enough water and rest. After that, if the fever does not decrease or if it continues to increase after some time, consult a doctor immediately.
Things to do to prevent Dengue:
1. Try to keep the surroundings of the house as clean as possible.
2. If there are flower tubs or broken plastic bottles, can shells, tires or polythene inside the house, clean them quickly and drain the accumulated water from the flower tubs.
3. Spray or fog at least 3 times a week to kill mosquitoes.
4. You can keep mosquito repellent cream with you while going out.
5. After evening, younger and older members of the household should use mosquito nets.
6. Clean up any accumulated rain water, as this is the time when Aedes mosquitoes lay their eggs.
7. On the other hand, you can use mats along with mosquito nets to avoid mosquito infestation.
8. Since Aedes mosquitoes bite during the day, it is important to avoid sleeping with mosquito nets while sleeping during the day. Source: https://dmpnews.org
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