Jessore sugar hoarders go into hiding

The importers and wholesalers involved in manipulating sugar price during Ramadan have gone into hiding as law enforcers are conducting raid to arrest them following filing of two cases with Avaynagar Police Station in Jessore.
Sujat Hossain Khan, district marketing officer of Agricultural Marketing department filed the cases under the Special Powers Act on Thursday accusing 14 importers and wholesalers.
Additional Superintendent of Police Zakir Hossain, also a member of the probe committee to investigate the sugar scam, told journalists that law-enforcement agencies would continue raiding across the country to arrest the accused.
Our Jessore correspondent reports, two teams of Rab and police led by Officer-in-Charge of Avaynagar Police Station Humayun Kabir and SI Khobir raided various areas in Khulna and Avaynagar to arrest the accused yesterday early hours.
However, none could be arrested as of yesterday around 6:00pm.
Earlier on September 26 midnight, NSI, Rab and Police raided four warehouses belonging to Joint Trading Corporation and Sheikh Brothers in Nawapara and seized 74,380 sacks of sugar on charge of hoarding sugar for market manipulation.
The district administration formed a three-member probe committee on September 27 to investigate the abnormal price hike.
The committee submitted their report to the deputy commissioner on September 30 with nine recommendations including cancellation of the licences of Joint Trading Corporation and Sheikh Brothers and filing criminal cases against the hoarders. The report will be forwarded to the commerce ministry.
Meanwhile our staff correspondent from Chittagong reports, price of sugar started falling at both the wholesale and retail markets in the port city in last few days.
Wholesale price of sugar came down by Tk 200 per maund (37.32 kg) in last four days while retail price also dropped by Tk 3 per kg. At different kitchen markets yesterday retailers were seen selling sugar at Tk 55 against Tk 58 a week ago.
In Khatunganj, sugar was selling at Tk 1950 a maund (Tk 52.25 a kg) during the last trading on Thursday while the price was Tk 2050 a maund on Monday. Traders said the price had fallen due to adequate supply to the market.
Meanwhile, the executive committee of Khatunganj Trade and Industries Association has arranged a meeting today to discuss the volatile price of sugar, sources said.
Traders would make some proposals in the meeting for the government to consider in order to check the sugar prices.
General secretary of the association Syed Sagir Ahmad said sugar price rose in last week due to poor supply as the trading was closed on the eve of Eid-ul-Fitr and Durga Puja.
The supply has become normal again; he said adding the price would come down further.
According to the sources in Chittagong Port, around 1.17 lakh tonnes of sugar are now being unloaded from four vessels at the port while two more vessels -- Sunny Globe (47,500 tonnes) and AL QAWIYYU (30,000 tonnes) carrying around 77,000 tonnes are scheduled to arrive at the port in the next week.