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Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP) is campaigning to keep the salt market stable
There is no scarcity of salt in the market and the price of this essential commodity has remained unchanged at Tk35, traders in the capital have said.
On Tuesday, consumers panicked over a rumour that salt price might go up abnormally rushed to buy extra amount of the item, which drove many shops out of its supply.
They said yesterday there was enough stock with more supply coming from companies and salt was being sold at maximum retail price (MRP) as stated in the packets.
Visiting different shops in Dhaka’s Farmgate and Karwanbazar area, Dhaka Tribune found most of the stores and shops having sufficient salt stock.
Manik Mia, salesperson of Talukder Traders at Panthapath, said the demand for salt was very high on Tuesday, when the rumours began to make rounds. “We had sold close to 80 kilograms of salt in two hours at MRP.”
“A person had bought 15kg of salt from our shop on Tuesday and within hours its stock had finished,” he said.
“To meet customer’s increasing demand, we ordered for more salt from companies yesterday,” he added.
Abdur Rahman, proprietor of Maa Traders at Karwanbazar area, said he did not sell more than 2kg salt to a single customer on Tuesday.
“People crowded my shop and many of them returned empty-handed as my stock had run out,” he said.
“However, I brought new supply of 75kg of salt today (Wednesday) but could not sell any,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP) is campaigning to keep the salt market stable.
Masum Arifin, assistant director of DNCRP, told Dhaka Tribune that they found no shortage of salt in the markets on Wednesday and the price was normal as per MRP.
“To prevent any supply shortage and price manipulation of salt, we are strictly monitoring the markets,” he added.
According to rumours of salt scarcity in markets floating through social media on Tuesday, customers rushed to purchase the essential cooking ingredient but found traders selling it at prices double or even triple the MRP.
To prevent rumours from spreading, police and relevant authorities have been conducting frequent drives in shops across the country ever since.
Chairman of Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) Md Mostaque Hassan said in a press release issued on Wednesday that there was no shortage of salt as the supply was higher than the demand at the moment.
The BSCIC chairman also said the salt stock in the country stood at 650,000 tons on November 15, and the country saw record salt production in 2018-2019 fiscal year – 1.2 million tons – which was much higher than the target.
(DT)
