No fear of food shortage in current fiscal year: Food Minister
Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder told the parliament today that there is no apprehension about food shortage in the country in the current fiscal year.
In response to a query from ruling Awami League MP Ali Azam, the minister informed the House that there was no shortage of food grains in the country in the 2020-21 fiscal and there is no apprehension of a shortage in the 2021-22 fiscal.
He said the Ministry of Agriculture has set a target of 406.07 lakh tonnes (rice 394.81 lakh tonnes and wheat 12.26 lakh tonnes) food grains production in the 2021-22 financial year.
The question-answer session of today's House sitting was tabled with Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury in the chair.
Replying to a question from ruling Awami League MP Shafiul Islam, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi told parliament that the Ministry of Commerce is taking various effective steps to keep the prices of essential commodities stable and tolerable in the upcoming month of Ramadan.
He said, despite the recent rise in the prices of essential commodities, the prices of daily commodities have started coming to a stable and tolerable level as a result of various measures taken by the government.
In response to a question from Jatiya Party MP Rustam Ali Farazi, Tipu Munshi said the prices of essential food items in the country often go up sharply.
"The reason for this was the increase in the price of goods in the international market and in many cases the price of goods increased within the country when production was disrupted due to natural causes," he added.
The Ministry of Commerce organised regular view exchange meetings with business leaders to keep the prices of essential commodities stable and tolerable, said Tipu Munshi.
Besides, data on production, import, supply and price situation of essential commodities are collected from the Department of Agricultural Extension, Bangladesh Bank, National Board of Revenue, Bangladesh Tariff and Trade Commission and TCB through "Commodity Price Review and Forecast Cell," he said.
Besides, market monitoring and mobile courts are being conducted at all metropolitan, district and upazila levels including Dhaka by the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection, said the minister.
This department conducts more than 300 market inspections and raids across the country every month, he said.
The commerce minister also said the Competition Commission was working to ensure that no one could create a monopoly or oligopoly with the price of the product.
Replying to a question by ruling party MP M Abdul Latif, Tipu Munshi said that the recent rise in the price of edible oil in the international market has led to an increase in the price of edible oil in the domestic market.
However, due to effective measures taken by the Ministry of Commerce, the prices of edible oil and other essential commodities have remained stable and tolerable.
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