No one can control market: Planning minister

Planning Minister MA Mannan yesterday said no one in the world has the power to control the market as it regulates itself.

"However, there are certain theoretical underpinnings to the market, such as supply and demand," he said while talking with journalists after a programme in Dhaka.

Mentioning that stable older economies have a market equilibrium, he said in an emerging economy like Bangladesh, there is always a gap between demand and supply.

"Sometimes the pain is felt more when the gap is larger. We admit that the pain is high (in Bangladesh) right now," said the minister.

M A Mannan said that there was a slight decrease in inflation last month, and it is expected to decrease a little more at the end of this month.

Regarding syndicates in the market, the minister said that they are elusive and difficult to catch. "If we could see or catch the syndicate, we would act."

He added that the government has taken action against syndicates in the past, but it is a challenging task, especially in an emerging economy where there are often distortions in the market.

"Syndicates take advantage of opportunities to profit," he said. "We have to enforce regulations to deal with them, but they cannot be controlled simply by going to the market or a shop. It is a very difficult issue."

MA Mannan said that the government is selling products at a subsidised price by trucks and helping one crore people with special cards. He added that without these measures, the inflation rate would have been 12%. "The government is also trying to mitigate the impact of inflation on the poor by waiving duties in various ways."

"No alternative to sustainable marketing"

Before talking with journalists, the planning minister attended a programme on occasion of the Bangladesh Marketing Day organised by the Marketers' Institute Bangladesh.

As a chief guest at the programme, he said there is no alternative to sustainable marketing to achieve business growth and efficient human resource development is required in that regard.

In the programme held at the University of Dhaka, he added that Bangladesh will become a developed country by 2041.

Marketers' Institute Bangladesh President Professor Mizanur Rahman said, "Sustainable marketing will become more important in the future due to rapid changes in technology, globalisation, and greater social responsibility. Competition in the market will be more intense."

He further said, "For a better world, we need to focus on socially responsible budgeting that is sustainable marketing."

Marketers' Institute Bangladesh General Secretary Shariful Islam Dulu said the platform of marketers has been celebrating the day since 2018 with the aim of providing maximum satisfaction to consumers by enhancing the professional skills of marketing professionals.