THE rising trend of food prices and daily essential commodities should be taken seriously before an artificial crisis is created. The breakdown of the international food supply chain for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused concern for food grain shortages across the globe, experts warn.
A news report of this daily on Wednesday said that prices of all the essential food items increased multiple times in the recent months pushing many people under the poverty line and fear to fall in poverty again. The fixed income households are in tight hands and forced to compromise daily nutrition intake, leaving them in danger of malnutrition. The government’s failure to ensure market stability also raises the danger of famine, food insecurity, political and economic instability, and failure of the State. The recent political and economic volatility of Sri Lanka, once a developing status nation, due to mindless utopian infrastructure on credit and Covid-19 induced economic recession signaled that Bangladesh is on the verge to fall.
Experts warned that the global instability of the food market, particularly wheat, edible oil, cereals, and crops, and floods in Sylhet and northern districts which affected the rice production indicated that the coming days will be tough for us. As a precautionary measure, the government already put an embargo on foreign travelling by government, semi-government and corporation officials, devalued money against the dollar to discourage imports traumatised citizens.
The government is importing 300,000 tonnes of wheat from India and procuring Boro rice and paddy from the local market. As per the latest data, the government has a stock of 11.28 lakh tonnes of food grains, including 1.12 lakh tonnes of wheat and 10.15 lakh tonnes of rice and paddy in its silos. If the government food stock goes under 10 lakh tonnes, it may negatively impact the market.
In this global and regional unstable period, we must not spend our resources unnecessarily. The government must assure citizens that there is no shortage of food supply. Illogical price hikes must also be checked with intelligent spending of resources.
