The prices of basic commodities have gone so high that they are making people cry in the markets, State Minister for Industries Kamal Ahmed Majumder said today.

A strong syndicate is active now both in the economy and the markets, which has fuelled prices of commodities and made the markets unstable, he said.

Majumder made the comments while addressing a group of journalists at a workshop on "the role of the media for the development of SMEs after the Covid-19 pandemic" organised jointly by the Economic Reporters' Forum (ERF) and SME Foundation.

The event was organised at the ERF office in Dhaka.