Price hike pitches low income people into crisis
It has been a year since the first coronavirus patient was detected on 8 March last year in Bangladesh. On the one hand, people’s income has decreased, on the other hand everyday expenses have increased. Such a situation has created anxiety among the people.
Due to the price hike of daily essentials, people’s living costs have risen significantly. According to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), the price of coarse rice shot up by 37.14 per cent and paizam rice by 22 per cent. The price of wheat flour rose by 10.71 per cent while the price of all-purpose flour increased by 7 per cent along with other goods such as lentils, milk powder, broiler chicken and beef.
According to a report of Prothom Alo, the price of onions has gone up by Tk 10 to Tk 15 per kg in a week. It costs Tk 40 to 50 to buy one kg of onions from a retail store. Hand-picked onions are also being sold at Tk 55-60 per kg. Powder milk of different brands is being sold at TK 550 to 660 per kg in Karwan Bazar. Traders say that the supply of spring onion harvested at the beginning of winter is nearing the end. The harvest of onions produced from the seeds has not yet begun. That is why onion prices went up.
The government's procurement policy is responsible for the increase in rice prices. The target set for paddy collection every year has not been met. Rice stock in government warehouses is relatively low this year. Prices in the global market are often blamed for the increase in the price of imported goods. It remains to be seen how much the prices of imported goods have gone up in the world market, and what effect it has had on the country. It is often seen that if the price of a product in the global market increases by Tk 10 per kg, the price rose to Tk 20-30 in Bangladesh’s markets.
Several large business groups control the import of goods in Bangladesh. They increase prices by syndicating. Even the policy makers of the government are aware of these manipulations of the traders but have constantly failed to take effective action.
Ramadan is around the corner. At this time, the demand for gram, onions, sugar, edible oil, spices, dates, etc. is high. Importers take this opportunity to raise prices abnormally. In a recent meeting with traders, the commerce minister said the prices of essential commodities would not go up during Ramadan. Earlier, he had made such promises about the prices of various products which were never met. The report of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on the global food situation said food grain prices could rise further in the future. Global food prices have been rising since the pandemic began. According to a report by the news agency Reuters, the price of meat in the world market has increased by 3.2 per cent in one month.
Low-income people are under a lot of pressure due to the increase in the prices of food grains and other essential commodities. In this situation, verbal assurance will be of no use to the people. To keep the market stable, the government needs to ensure stockpiling and supply of daily commodities, especially food products. TCB should be proactive in this regard. If the supply of goods is stable, traders will not be able to raise prices arbitrarily by creating an artificial crisis.