What’s behind rampant price of essentials?

As the government’s top level and traders trade blame over the rising prices of essential commodities, the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) calls for punishing the culprits, saying that it will benefit the market. Agricultural products change hands five to six times before reaching the market from the field. The prices of goods go up at every stage. In this way, consumers are forced to buy the products at three to four times their original prices. A huge chunk of the profits is gobbled up by the middlemen, CAB President Ghulam Rahman said. Consumers say they are being victimised by the traders’ syndicates and called for increased surveillance at all stages—from production to market. The government’s top officials have admitted that unscrupulous traders are responsible for increasing the price of essential commodities but FBCCI leaders deny the existence of syndicates in the daily commodity market. FBCCI Director Abul Hashem said that a trader is an intermediary in buying and selling goods. "He’s not a syndicate. But we must pay attention to whether the trader is doing business logically," he said. Earlier in March, the Department of Agricultural Marketing (DAM) fixed the prices of 29 products which hardly had any effect on the market. The commerce ministry tries to control the market price when the 'market syndicate’ manipulates the market and raises product prices. The prices fixed by the government do not affect the market. Even the export and import plans don’t work. Consumers say the raids are merely a public stunt. Meanwhile, economists say that the government’s efforts will not be successful if the market cannot supply products to fulfil consumer demand.
Published on: 2024-04-26 22:29:12.948079 +0200 CEST