Prices of essential commodities have been rising for the last several years in a cyclic order at certain intervals enjoying the relaxed mood of the ministries concerned. No relevant government directorate or department, especially the market monitoring cell of the ministry of commerce, likes to pay heed to the burning issue despite severe outcry from low and marginal income-group people. Different marketing companies at a meeting on Sunday with the commerce ministry decided not to give any more ‘price cut’ to the consumers resulting in further price hike of edible oil, including bottled soybean, within a span of a few months. Now each one-litre bottle of soybean will cost Tk 153 in the wholesale market and the price would further hike in retail sales. A five-litre bottled soybean will now cost Tk 728, which was Tk 500 last year.
Not only edible oil, the people have to buy each and every item, from rice to sugar and oil to life-saving drugs by paying extra money due to regular price hikes. Even during the pandemic when a majority of people faced monetary problems for losing their jobs or sources of income due to strict lockdown, price hike of essentials did not stop. The prices of rice – the staple food in this country – were always in an upswing. Though unbelievable, rice prices went up again and again despite bumper harvest of paddy declared by the agricultural ministry. Being pressured by the traders, the government a couple of times eased the process to import rice from other countries. But it was not possible to rein in the price hike due to strong syndicated activities of rice mill owners and importers. Now, we know that our food minister runs the biggest business house in the rice sector.
We are not against doing business by the ministers, MPs, and ruling party men. People know two-thirds of lawmakers and the majority of ministers are directly involved in business. But it becomes a matter of annoyance when ordinary people’s hard-earned money is trapped by their mere business interests. Whenever the commerce minister sits in a meeting with businessmen to control price hike, we see the price of the certain item has gone up mysteriously, or the certain item has vanished from the market overnight. The message is clear. Either the ministry concerned hasn’t the capability to deal with the crisis or they are not interested in solving the problem. Very recently, the food minister told the media that a new group of businessmen are responsible for stockpiling and price hiking of rice. We wonder how a group could create such a situation in the market bypassing the relevant ministry and the law enforcing agencies. If it is true then why is the government there?
