The note of caution was conveyed by business leaders of the country at a high-level meeting with Commerce Minister Altaf Hossain Chowdhury here yesterday.

The wholesalers and importers informed the meeting that the existing stock of some consumer items like rice, pulse, oil and salt is normal and the prices of those might not rise further in the coming Ramadan.

The Ministry of Commerce organised the meeting to review the demand, supply, import and price situation of the daily essentials ahead of the Ramadan.

The commerce minister presided over the meeting held at the ministry's conference room.

Commerce Ministry Adviser Barkat Ullah Bulu, FBCCI President-elect Mir Nasir Hossain, CCCI acting President SM Nurul Haque, oil trader Mostafa Kamal, Bangladesh Grocery Business Association President Shamsul Alam Miah, Pulse Traders Association representative Shafiqul Islam and Dhaka Metropolitan Agricultural Product Importers' Association (DCAPIA) President Kazi Habibur Rahman, among others, attended the meeting.

Importers of onion pointed out that price of onion in India, the main source of import, shot up by around US$ 50-60 each metric ton during last couple of months.

General Secretary of DCAPIA Khandakar Babul said price of onion was US$ 175 in the Indian market just two month ago.

But onion is now being sold at US$ 225 per metric ton and the exporters have informed that a new price of US$ 250 will be effective from September 1, which will certainly influence the local price, Babul observed.

He also blasted the Indian exporters for their alleged involvement in exporting rotten onion to Bangladesh, which forced many local importers to quit the business.

In reply, Barkat Ullah Bulu suggested the importers to take quick initiative to import onion from Myanmar or Turkey to lessen dependency on the Indian market.

The prices of the spices are comparatively lower in Myanmar and Turkey, he pointed out.

On the other hand, the sugar wholesalers and importers informed the meeting that the price of sugar would also go up due to higher demand.

They informed the meeting that the price of sugar also went up by Tk 40 to Tk 50 each maund in the international market in last seven days.

The traders also urged the government either to reduce the duty on sugar import or give subsidy to stabilise its price.

However, the traders dealing in rice, salt, oil, fruit and salt apprised the meeting that the stock of these essentials remained at a satisfactory level.

Nizam Uddin of Rice Trader Association said that the millers and big farmers stockpiled huge quantity of rice and there would be no price hike of the staple if Open Market Sales (OMS) are launched.

The salt traders requested the government to import one lakh metric ton salt to avoid any crisis during Ramadan. They informed the meeting that the country can produce 8.5 lakh metric ton salt while the annual consumption is 11.5 lakh metric ton.

Talking to reporters after the meeting, the commerce minister said there is no reason to be frightened as the reserve of the daily essentials is adequate.

"We are encouraging small and medium importers to import the daily essentials through the land ports… and the big importers can import through the 'buy-back' package offered by Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB)," he said.

The minister also urged people not to be worried, as the government is doing everything to keep the prices of essentials stable during the coming Ramadan.