The government on Wednesday imposed a ban on exports of five vegetable items to check price hikes of those in the local market during the month of Ramadan that will start next week. The items are, green chilli, aubergine, cucumber, lemon and coriander leaves. The decision was taken during a meeting between commerce minister Tofail Ahmed and the traders at secretariat ahead of the fasting month.
Tofail told newsmen after the meeting that they took the decision so that prices of the items do not go up in the local market on ground of supply shortage.
The consumption of the items goes up during Ramadan, he said Export of chilli, aubergine, cucumber and coriander leaves was also banned in Ramanda last year.
He hoped that there will be no crisis of essential products in the local market in the month of Ramadan.
He said the traders had given him assurance of a stable trend in the prices of essentials.
Tofail said the price of onion might go up in the local market as its price in India has doubled.
He, however, said the government was trying to import onions from Turkey and Myanmar to keep a steady supply of onion in the market.
He said stocks of items such as wheat, edible oils, sugar, dal (pulses) and gram seed by the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh was satisfactory.
TCB operates open market sales of the items at subsidised prices in different times of the year including the Ramadan.
-With New Age input
