ALTHOUGH the kitchen market situation does not bother ministers and the bureaucracy the government leaders appear to be alert about the market situation this time prior to the forthcoming fasting month of Ramzan. News reports said the Commerce Ministry held a discussion on the supply situation in Ramzan at a meeting on Monday to make sure that prices of essentials and their supply remain stable with enough imports lined up from now to keep the market stable.
Reports said the meeting examined the stock position of different items and supplies, especially the imports of essentials in the pipeline. Representatives of Bangladesh Bank, National Board of Revenue (NBR) and intelligence agencies said that there was no reason for panic or for price hikes during Ramzan. But as the matter stands, such meetings ahead of the month of Ramzan are not new nor are the assurances of stable supply and prices anything special. These are rituals and the rhetoric is rather politically addressed to the people to give them the impression that the government is aware of their sufferings. It is natural that the government will think about public sufferings, but many people tend to believe that such meetings rather work as a wake up call to dishonest businesses. They similarly start rolling their business machines to exploit the occasion and amass windfall profits.
The meeting was informed that the government will import sugar, lentils, edible oils, dates and gram through Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) to strengthen its market intervention capacity to keep prices down. Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed especially told the meeting that the government will work jointly with businesses to keep the prices stable and nobody will be spared if they try to create an artificial crisis through illegal hoarding. The government will not tolerate it, he warned. Meanwhile, intelligence agencies also laid importance on monitoring the supply and prices of major items like wheat, ginger, onion and lentils which sell at much higher prices on the occasion. Big importers hold back stocks to create artificial supply shortfalls to exploit the situation. They must be watched and actions must be taken quickly to deal with them.
But the TCB’s role is highly annoying. Reports said it imported huge amounts of edible oil last year before Ramzan and did not sell the stock. Meanwhile it allowed private importers to manipulate the markets and later sold the stock at lower cost to hoarders again. It similarly invited tenders through private business houses to import other essential items and passed out the time without receiving any shipment. TCB later dropped the tenders but the people suffered from absence of market intervention. There is always a question over the nexus between big business and powerful political quarters. When importers and hoarders work with powerful quarters or leaders give protection to hoarders as beneficiary from such business; the market monitoring mechanism collapse and buyers end up paying heavily during Ramzan.
We hold the view that any measure to stabilize supply and prices of essentials during Ramzan must be serious and not part of an eye-wash to befool the nation. The government must act honestly to reign in the situation. We say, people must be saved at any cost.
