The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) has urged traders not to raise prices of essential goods by citing the newly announced pay scale. FBCCI Convener Md Fazlul Haque made the appeal on Tuesday morning at a consultation meeting with businesses at the organisation’s headquarters, convened to help keep stocks, supply, imports and prices of daily necessities stable.

Haque said the public had become concerned about essential-goods prices after approval of the pay scale and called on businesses to assure consumers that there was no connection between the pay scale and price increases. Traders, wholesalers and importers said prices need not rise if supplies remain normal, but warned that fuel shortages, supply-chain obstacles and unchecked middlemen could make market stability difficult.

Participants sought uninterrupted fuel for production-oriented factories, solutions to letter-of-credit complications, stronger monitoring of prices at mill gates and wholesale and retail markets, and action against harassment in supply channels. Haque said observations from the meeting would be conveyed to the government and that he would pursue discussions with relevant ministries and agencies within his three-month term.