"It is very dangerous to intervene in the market through the TCB. It is not possible to keep prices low by reducing tax. Supply of essentials should be ensured, and extortion on roads and highways and rent seeking should be stopped," Saifur told newspersons at his secretariat office.

Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Dr Kamal Uddin Siddiqui on Sunday issued a directive to the finance ministry to provide adequate fund for the TCB to import some essential commodities that have huge demand during the month of Ramadan.

Also asking the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to bring down duties on 11 essential items for a month, Siddiqui said both these directives are from the prime minister.

"In my view, it is certainly a very bad notion in the fiscal, monetary and financial management," the finance minister said when journalists asked him about the PMO directive regarding government measures to rein in price hike of essential commodities.

This type of initiative to bring down prices of essentials during Ramadan is taken every year but it does not work at all, he said. "I have been doing these things since 1977, but reduction in duties on commodities did not work in bringing down prices of essentials."

On TCB's failure, Saifur said it earlier imported lentil, but could not sell the item in three months. Lentil price in the market came down after the state-run agency imported it and later the corporation failed to clear the stock.

Citing another example, the finance minister said the TCB took an initiative to import sugar but it could not do so. Private sector traders feel discouraged to import these essentials when the TCB is tasked with importing those, he said, adding these types of moves do not contribute.