Dhaka, March 19 -- Sugar prices may drop during the first week of Ramadan as the government has reduced the tax, said Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi.

The stock of all essential products is more than enough to cover Ramadan, he said, adding that consumers tend to buy and stock products in the first week of Ramadan.

"This causes a temporary price hike. The price will not go up if they refrain from buying a lot in one go. Even the prices of some products may drop, as traders promised earlier. The sugar price, in particular, may drop in the first week of Ramadan," he said in a press briefing on Sunday.

He also said that Bangladesh has sufficient soybean oil in stock.

"We calculated and found ourselves unable to push the price down further....