Dhaka: Commerce Adviser Sk. Bashir Uddin today put emphasis on ensuring fair trade, stabilization of market, and creating buffer zones to supplement government efforts towards ensuring food security and smooth trade and commerce operations in the country. "We'll have to continue our efforts to ensure fair trade and stabilization of market . we should also create buffer storage facility," he stated.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the commerce adviser was addressing a session titled 'Food market, supply and domestic capacity' at the day-long conference on 'Agriculture, Food Security, Lives-Nature' as the chief guest, held at a hotel in the capital. The Daily Bonik Barta organized the conference, with Quality Feeds Limited as the lead sponsor.
The event featured notable speakers including Meghna Group of Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mostafa Kamal, Kazi Farms Limited Managing Director Kazi Zahedul Hasan, Mutual Trust Bank Managing Director and CEO Syed Mahbubur Rahman, National Citizen Party (NCP) Member Secretary Akhter Hossain, Managing Director of ACI Logistics Ltd (Swapno) Sabbir Hasan Nasir, Chief Operating Officer of Square Food, Beverage Ltd Parvez Saiful Islam, and Director, Group Corporate and Legal Affairs of Quality Feeds Limited M Safir Rahman.
Bashir highlighted the importance of government or public-private partnerships in just-based hoarding of goods to ensure fair trade and market stabilization. He emphasized that this long-term initiative requires the attention of successive political governments.
He further pointed out the necessity for substantial investments in irrigation, fertilizer production, agro-ecological reference, and climate vulnerability, considering the country's vast annual food market size. Bashir suggested holding a national-level discussion for policy recommendations from the country's intellectuals.
The commerce adviser also stressed the need for a comprehensive policy on animal feed and human food issues, urging for a deeper understanding of responsibilities and action planning. He criticized the previous AL regime for excessive expenditure in projects, which he claimed led to adverse consequences for the populace.
On the topic of inflation, Bashir recommended measuring the inflation index based on 17 essential items listed by the government for better market regulation. He called for the independence of regulatory entities to act as catalysts in ensuring fair trade.
Bashir noted that the Ministry of Commerce's entities worked tirelessly to stabilize the market of essential items during the last Holy Month of Ramadan and expressed commitment to repeating feasible initiatives to maintain market stability.
Panelists suggested developing a comprehensive agriculture policy, implementing prudent post-harvest management through automatic harvesting, building a real-time food observatory, extending refinancing schemes, ensuring quality in feed production, introducing agri-insurance for the poultry sector, expanding cold storage facilities, consulting stakeholders before policy decisions, and enhancing seaport capacity.