Whenever the price of a commodity increases in the local market, the traders and wholesalers have the readymade excuse of a price hike in the international market. But a recent study by an intelligence agency found their justification to be unsubstantiated.

Bangladesh Competition Commission has filed 44 cases against a host of individuals and organisations, accusing them of creating an artificial crisis that led to abnormal hikes in prices of items like rice, flour, eggs, poultry and toiletries.

A Chattogram court today (September 20, 2022) sentenced Nurjahan group Chairman and Managing Director Zahir Ahammed to one year in jail and fined him Tk 2.5 lakh in a case filed by BSTI for marketing low-quality edible oil.

After over two weeks of deliberation, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi yesterday said the prices of rice, lentil, flour, onion and five other daily essentials should be fixed by the agricultural ministry, not the commerce ministry.

Prices of eggs, rice, vegetables and flour have risen in the capital’s kitchen markets again, increasing the burden on those with limited incomes.  

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi yesterday said the government will fix the prices of nine basic commodities within the next seven days to check the irrational price hike of essentials in the local markets.

India’s imposition of 20 percent duty on rice export is unlikely to affect prices of the staple in Bangladesh, according to local traders.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today (September 1, 2022) reiterated her call to the countrymen to put concentration on boosting food production, savings and showing austerity in all stages in the wake of global crisis.

The government today starts selling rice at subsidised prices in an effort to give respite to the poor and low-income earners and bring stability to the volatile rice market.

The government is going to fix the prices of several commodities, including rice, lentil and flour, to check price manipulation by unscrupulous traders in the local market.

The government yesterday slashed the import duty on rice and is also working to import about 12 lakh tonnes of food grain including rice as it looks to rein in the price of the staple amid a cost of living crisis.

A parliamentary watchdog yesterday came down heavily on Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun for the price spiral of sugar despite ample supply of the commodity.

“Deadpool” actor Ryan Reynolds recently praised a restaurant in UK while posting a flyer on his Instagram, and since then the restaurant’s bookings have been “off the scale”.

The government yesterday hiked the price of soybean oil for the fourth time this year even though the price of the product in the international market held steady in the past month.

The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) has demanded punitive measures against anyone found manipulating prices in the domestic egg market.

Azmat Ali is a daily wage earner in the northern district of Lalmonirhat. Just a week ago, he bought coarse rice for Tk 44-45 a kg. But yesterday he found the price of the staple rose to Tk 52.

The government is taking a host of measures to cool down the overheated prices of essentials in the wake of the record fuel price hike earlier this month, which is expected to escalate the already elevated official inflation figures.

People’s struggle to cope with the escalating cost of living continues as the price of rice increased yesterday for the second time in just four days.

People struggling to keep up with rising prices of essentials have to spend even more on food since the government hiked fuel prices a week ago. 

Adverse effect of climate change is affecting the whole world. While global warming, increase in salinity, rise in sea level and destruction of biodiversity are affecting us, the world is facing another bigger challenge of ensuring food security. Of the 7.9 billion people in the world, about 850 million are still facing hunger. In Bangladesh, over 20 million people do not have well access to food. As a result, One out of six people in the country is suffering from malnutrition. Rice is the staple food in your daily diet. I went to Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) in Gazipur in the first week of June this year.