News Desk :
Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council, or BARC, has blamed syndicates of rogue businessmen twinned with the government’s failure to rein them in for the soaring prices of essential commodities like rice, onion and potato, reports bdnews24.com.
The state agency in a report published in Dhaka on Tuesday also cited inconsistencies in production information as one of the reasons behind the rise in the prices.
The study found that the farmers sold paddy from their stocks gradually instead of selling at a time in the last Boro season, which drove the rice prices.
The government bought less rice than expected, and failed to import and intervene at the right time to control the market, the council said.
Control by owners of large mills and businessmen and an uneven competition between them also drive the prices while the number of seasonal traders increases, which is affecting the market.
A rise in costs of production and processing coupled with low harvest due to natural disasters are among the other reasons behind paddy price hike.
The report said hoarding of potato by farmers and traders for profiteering led to price hikes. Supply from the cold storages was also low and changed hands several times.
The export of potato to neighbouring countries and rising number of seasonal traders, who created an artificial crisis in the market, also drove the price, according to the report.
A lack of government control on the market and failure to get the real picture of the market were among the reasons behind potato price hike.
A drop in vegetable production due to long rainy season led to a rise in demand and price of the root vegetable.
Syndicates of dishonest businesses manipulated the onion market, the BARC study found.
Excessive dependency on the Indian onions caused the price hike when the neighbouring country suspended exports.
The government was late to react in finding alternative sources of onion, the report said.
The researchers said a drop in production during summer caused the onion price hike as well.
