The Bangladesgh Post on Saturday ran a story headlined “Price gouging on after proposed budget” as its lead news item. According to the report, prices of most of the essential coomodities have gone up in the market soon after the national budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 was placed in Parliament on Thursday.
To everybody’s surprise, the prices of almost all the essential goods have started shooting up immediately after the national budget was placed in Parliament. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina gave a set of directives to the authorities to carry out constant monitoring of the markets to keep stable the prices, stocks and supplies of essential goods. The agriculture, food, and commerce ministers had assued people of the country many times that there would be no shortage of daily commodities in the country. They had also warned of taking stern action against those who would try to create any artificial crisis of essentials in the market.
Prices of almost all the essential
goods have started shooting up
immediately after the national
budget was placed in Parliament
But, a section of traders have increased the prices of essentials, not giving a damn about the warning. There has not been much reflection of what the government said in taming the price hike.
Dishonest traders adopted a strategy to raise the prices of vegetables and other essentials well ahead of the proposed budget. We have noticed such unethical practice of the traders for the last few years. They are doing this only to make hefty profit.
Therefore, consumers and farmers’ cooperatives will have to be formed to deal with the middlemen which may help reduce prices alongside ensuring the fair shares of farmers. The government should take effective measures to bring down the prices of essentials to a tolerable level for the ordinary consumers.
The local administration will also have to monitor all the major markets in the capital Dhaka, other metropolitan cities, district towns and upazila headquarters throughout the year. The government should continue providing essential items for low-income group people at subsidised rate by setting up permanent shops for the dealers of the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) as early as possible.
