Despite threat of famine at the beginning of corona outbreak, the country has produced a record amount of food grains amid adverse situations. Though the country is not lagging behind in vegetable production, but it is a matter of great regret that despite the production of such ample food grains, the market for all essential vegetables including rice, pulses, onions, potatoes, oil, spices, papaya, brinjal, gourd and green chilies is skyrocketing. Lower and lower-middle-class families are struggling to make both ends meet.
At the moment of the Covid-19 pandemic, the vegetable market has become a new concern in addition to health care.
In the last few months, the price of potatoes has risen at an incredible rate. Although the government has recently fixed the price of potato at Tk 25 per kg, it is still being sold Tk 48 to Tk 55 per kg in different kitchen markets. It is known that more potatoes have been produced than the target this year. So we don’t think there is any logic behind doubling potato prices in two months. Rice and mashed potatoes are one of the food items to meet the needs of the poor families in our country. Mashed potatoes are no longer the food of the poor now as the prices of green chilies and onions (which are also used in other curries) are beyond the reach of many.
On September 14, when India suddenly announced a halt to onion exports, the onion market in the country had become unstable. Although attempts have been made to control the market of onion by adopting various measures including import of onion from other countries, it has not been possible to bring the price of onions to a tolerable level. As the price gradually increased, the price of 1 kg of onions has now come to Tk 90 which was Tk 30 two months earlier, and the commoners today are startled by the exorbitant prices of all vegetables and food grains.
There may be a simple idea that our rural farmers are being benefitted from the rising prices of vegetables. But the news that the farmers are not getting a fair price has also been known to all. So why does it take three to four times more money to reach the consumer through different hands or means at the price at which the farmer sells vegetables? For example, farmers are reported to have sold potatoes at Tk10 to Tk12 per kg this year. If we add the cost of preserving potatoes in the cold storage, how does the price of these very potatoes become Tk50 per kg in the retail market? Obviously there is a big manipulation in it at some stages. The big challenge, therefore, for the government now is to manage the market by taking appropriate actions against the culprits known as middlemen who muddle the market.
It is pertinent to mention that there was a hue and cry over the price of onions in the country at this time last year. Price of onions increased step by step and reached upto Tk 250 per kg that year. It is not clear why precautionary measures were not taken to combat the present situation. If agricultural sectors are not prioritized, we will have to see more such unexpected price hikes.
Since there is no political impasse, no strikes, no hartals, and no lockdowns or transportation problems in the country now, there is no ethical ground for the vegetable market to be unstable at this time. Area-based market associations or merchant associations are not concerned with the opportunities of the consumers but are busy with expanding their business and finding ways to make huge profits. Although the local administrations always try to suppress these business syndicates in the midst of their daily routine work, it is not possible for them to monitor all the markets under their command. Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), a government-run department that sells food at a fair price, cannot cover sales services in remote areas of the country. Besides, Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB), a non-governmental organization working to protect the rights of consumers, has repeatedly protested against the price hike, but traders are not taking it into account. On the other hand, as the offices of the consumer rights protection departments are district-centered, it is becoming difficult for them to control the market management in all the areas under that district. Taking advantage of this opportunity, unscrupulous traders, like octopuses, are gripping and running a business syndicates.
It is now the demand of people of all strata to bring the evil and unscrupulous businessmen to book. If the demand is not met, the suffering and dissatisfaction of the people may intensify. Just as the government has taken a tough stance on legislation to stop rape and violence, we expect that it will similarly take stern action against those who are involved in unbridled profit-making malpractice by running business syndicates unscrupulously.
(Mr. Badrul is Assistant Professor, Department of English, Ishakha International University
and PhD Researcher, JU. E-mail: [email protected])
