His comment came in the wake of soaring prices of essentials causing irritation among the consumers.

"The prices of essentials are comparatively lower than the neighbouring countries," he told newsmen after a meeting of Social Compliance Forum for RMG at the commerce ministry.

He said the countries depending on import of essential items are all suffering from the price hike. Prices have increased worldwide, he added.

Replying to a question the adviser said there is nothing called "price control". "I feel pain when anyone propose to impose price control," he said.

He said the government is considering importing essential items in a bigger way for adequate supply to the market.

"The price depends on demand and supply. Our aim is to contain the upward trend by increasing the supply," the adviser said.

About import through Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), the adviser said the TCB has certain limitations. "TCB has to follow the Public Procurement Regulation (PPR) in import anything. Hence, import through TCB to meet emergency demand is not possible," he added.

The adviser mentioned that importers quoted exorbitant price in response to tender floated by the TCB. "They think that the TCB does not have options. They have quoted irrational price," he said.

Mirza Aziz parried when a journalist wanted to know if BDR would be assigned to import essential items. "The government plans to use BDR extensively in the marketing process," he said.