The commerce ministry has asked the National Board of Revenue to further rationalise duty rates imposed on sugar and edible oil imports, said Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi yesterday.

He made the comments while speaking in parliament.

He claimed that the government's timely actions have made it possible to stabilise commodity prices and supply.

In reply to a query from Gonoforum MP Mukabbir Khan, the minister said measures are being taken to ensure an unstable situation is not created in the market in future.

Munshi said the commerce ministry and the Directorate of National Consumers Rights Protection were keeping a keen eye on preventing instability in the market.

He said that all possible measures -- including the removal of import barriers, reduction of customs duty, normalisation of gas-electricity supply, ensuring quick clearance at ports, and supervision of import of goods as per letters of credit (LCs) -- were taken to keep the supply of goods in the market uninterrupted.

He said that the Bangladesh Competition Commission was requested to investigate whether there were irregularities or monopolies in the poultry market.

The minister also said that the local market price of edible oil and sugar was adjusted from time to time in line with international market rates.

In response to a question from ruling Awami League MP Anwer Hossain Khan, the commerce minister said that prices of import-dependent daily necessities had increased due to higher transport costs, the Russia-Ukraine war and increasing dollar rates.

"The effects are being observed in the prices of daily essentials, including spicy items."

In response to a question from AL MP Benjir Ahmed, the minister said that in the last fiscal year of 2022-23, the total trade deficit with Saarc countries, including India and Pakistan, stood at $7.5 billion.

Among Saarc countries, there is a maximum trade deficit of $7.16 billion with India, $466.33 million with Pakistan, $14.29 million with Bhutan, and $1.49 million with Afghanistan.

On the other hand, there is a trade surplus with Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Bangladesh's trade deficit with China is $15.488 billion.

In response to a question from Awami League MP Ali Azam, Expatriates' Welfare Minister Imran Ahmad said that 11.25 lakh expatriate workers had been employed abroad in 2022-23 due to effective government measures.

In response to a query from AL MP Haji Selim, the minister said that there were agreements and memorandums of understanding with 18 countries and Hong Kong for the export of manpower.

The 18 countries are Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Libya, the Maldives, South Korea, Malaysia, Jordan, Bahrain, Iraq, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Brunei, Singapore, Mauritius, Cambodia, Greece, and Japan.

There are plans to sign agreements and MoU with other European countries, including Malta, Albania and Romania, he added.