26/07/2011 (Daily Star) - Prices of sugar remained steady yesterday thanks to increased supply of the sweetener from millers in city markets.

Other essential commodities such as cooking oil, chickpea and onion also maintained a stable price.

“We are getting adequate supply of sugar from millers,” said Anwar Habib, president of Bangladesh Sugar Traders' Association.

Some companies are selling sugar at different points at the government's fixed rate to bring back normalcy in the prices of the item.

Yesterday, retailers sold a kilogram of sugar at Tk 65-68 while loose cooking oil such as palm oil was sold at Tk 96-99 and soybean at Tk 109-110 a litre, according to Trading Corporation of Bangladesh.

Spike in prices of chickpea, which had been surging since early this month, also came to a halt.

Chickpea was sold at Tk 70-85 a kg yesterday. On July 1, prices of chickpea were Tk 60-70 a kg, TCB data shows.

The respite in price spiral came after businessmen's assurance to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to keep prices stable ahead of Ramadan and a High Court directive to the government to take necessary steps to stop illegal hoarding of sugar and soybean oil.

Earlier sugar prices shot up to as much as Tk 80 a kg in retails due to suspension of production by four refiners that prompted a section of traders to hoard and create a supply crunch.

Two mills resumed production recently while another is expected to restart within a week.

At Moulvibazar, the main wholesale market for sugar and cooking oil, the sweetener prices remained steady at Tk 62-63.5 a kg. While wholesale price of soybean was Tk 104-105 a litre.

Commerce Minister Faruk Khan yesterday said the government agencies will continue monitoring the market.

He said three types of monitoring are going on.

Two teams from the commerce ministry are monitoring the market in the city. Some personnel from the Directorate of National Consumers Rights Protection are also doing the same job regularly, he said.

“Moreover, officials from every deputy commissioners' offices are monitoring the market at district level.”