One shouldn’t be allowed in all businesses only because they’ve got money: FBCCI president

Md Jashim Uddin, president of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI), on Wednesday said he will talk to the highest echelons of the government to stop one from entering into all kinds of businesses only because they have money.

Pointing to corporates, he said, "Will I get into all types of businesses only because I have money? I will talk about it at the highest level of the government so no one can get involved in all kinds of businesses."

"At one time, rice used to come from small mills. We ate that and we had not had any problems. Now, it is our job to inform the government about these things in the interest of keeping the market stable," he noted at a views-exchange meeting with Moulvibazar Baboshayee Samity.

Rice prices have continued to skyrocket even in the Boro season. Rice prices usually come down at this time of the year, but this time it has gone up by Tk3-7 per kg. Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder has made six major industrial groups responsible for the sudden rise in rice prices.

Talking about the hoarding of rice, the FBCCI president said the law regarding permissible limit of stockpiling rice for millers was amended in 2020, but how much a miller can legally hoard still remains at an amount determined on the basis of the year 2011. 

The situation has changed and the capacity of traders has increased as well. For this reason, the law needs to be updated on a regular basis, he pointed out.

Moulvibazar traders said there will be no crisis of spices before Eid-ul-Adha as they have enough stocks. So, their prices will not increase.

In this regard, Jasim Uddin advised the traders to work on reducing the prices of spices before Eid like in other countries. 

"I want the traders to reduce the prices before Eid instead of going for the increase. Let this practice start from the traders of Moulvibazar," he said.