No invoices: refiner-wholesaler discussion reveals how they inflate prices

The FBCCI organises a discussion amid fears of further price rises ahead of Ramadan

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 12 Feb 2023, 04:25 PM
Updated : 12 Feb 2023, 04:25 PM

A discussion between refiners and wholesalers has cast light on how they artificially inflate prices beyond the limits without evidence.

According to them, the producers charge the wholesalers higher than prices fixed by the associations, government or regulators but put a lower rate in the invoice. The wholesalers do the same while selling goods to retailers.

The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, or FBCCI, organised the discussion at its office in Dhaka’s Motijheel on Sunday amid fears of further price rises ahead of Ramadan.

Food prices soar in Muslim-majority Bangladesh during the Islamic month of fasting, which will begin in the second half of March this year.

That’s when the traders take advantage of heightened demand for certain products, including cooking oil, onions, sugar, pulses, fruits, vegetables and spices.

At the meeting, the business leaders discussed cooking oil and sugar prices. Many traders were fined for hoarding cooking oil, and refiners were warned for irregularities after prices of the product soared last year.

The government’s consumer rights agency recently said it would sit with the stakeholders of the sugar industry because traders continued to sell the sweetener at much higher rates than the ones fixed by the refiners while packaged sugar vanished from the shops.

The refining mills do not provide invoices after selling sugar to the wholesalers at higher prices than the fixed ones, alleged Abul Hashem, vice-president of the Sugar Traders Association. “Then how will we sell at the fixed rates?”

Taslim Shahriar, a representative of the Sugar Refiners Association and senior assistant general manager of Meghna Group, refuted the allegation, saying they always give invoices to the wholesalers with accurate information.

Golam Mawla, president of the Edible Oil Wholesalers Association, objected to Taslim’s claim.

“The papers we get mention lower rates than we are charged. There are many other things which I better not say now because I won’t be allowed to do business if I did. I won’t get products,” Mawla said.

FBCCI President Jashim Uddin intervened at this stage. “Please stop this drama. Tens of millions of people are involved in trade, and the entire business community is called dishonest because of irregularities by a few.”

“We’ve long been hearing about the allegation of doing business without papers. It can’t be that you won’t provide a proper receipt after getting the money. Please stop playing hide-and-seek.”

Jashim said Mawla pointed the finger at the refiners, but the wholesalers are also to be blamed for raising prices further by not giving the retailers invoices.

Sugar trader Hashem defended the wholesalers at the time. “How will we provide a memo if we don’t get it from the mills? We still do business risking fines.”

The traders agreed in the meeting that imports were sufficient to meet the demand during Ramadan despite a dollar supply crunch.

Jashim urged the government to allow imports of some luxury products before Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Azha, saying many businesses depend on the Eid shopping season to cover low sales for the rest of the year.

“Otherwise, they may resort to illegal channels to make payments for goods,” he warned.