"We worked on the draft and it is ready for handover to the cabinet. The bill will then be tabled in parliament," said a high official of the commerce ministry.

The consumer protection act that gathered momentum in the wake of the recent price spike will control the prices of essentials such as rice, pulse, onion, edible oil, sugar, wheat, potato, chilli, salt, powder milk and MS rod, identified by the commerce ministry.

"There is no provision now to control prices in the open market economy, but this act will protect the rights of consumers and producers and allow the government to control the market," the official said.

"It has been observed that hoarders are mainly responsible for the price hike. Although there is a law against hoarders, it cannot control them," said Quazi Faruque, general secretary of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB).

The hoarders are taking advantage of the open market economy and control the market, but the government is unable to protect consumers' rights because of the absence of a consumer protection law," Faruque said.

"An act incorporating all related laws is timely," Commerce Secretary Sohel Ahmed Chowdhury said.

The act will enable the government to take legal action against producers of adulterated goods and salespersons who rip off buyers.

The act will also guarantee the rights of real producers. A producer can fix a price at lower level but rival manufacturers will not be able to file a case against the producer.

According to the act, a consumer can file a case with an arbitration court for speedy disposal.

In a bid to protect consumer rights, the government plans to establish a bureau of consumer affairs that will monitor the international prices of essential commodities.

"Monitoring international prices will help government bargain with the hoarders so that they cannot charge high prices," Faruque said.

The CAB is sceptic about the government decision on placing the act in parliament. "Hoarders are influential. We have been trying to have the bill passed into law for almost a decade, but nothing happened," the CAB general secretary said.