For two consecutive days – Friday and Saturday, two contemporaries have carried reports on unearthing of clandestinely stored chicken eggs in cold storages in Madaripur and Cumilla. In Madaripur, the haul was to the tune of 0.60 million and in Lalmai of Cumilla, the cache was even bigger at 2.1 million. Reportedly, in Madaripur, there is no poultry farm and hence people in the district largely depend on supplies from other areas. What is more, the egg market is under the control of two wholesale egg traders there.
There is nothing to be surprised if the wholesalers of other areas of the country have also gone for similar hoarding of this popular item. Even the hauled eggs at the two places amounting to 2.7 million together, according to the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP), can create an artificial crisis of eggs in the market. That a dozen of eggs has registered a price hike of Tk 12-15 over the past week is not for nothing. The business syndicate is certainly responsible for this latest round of hike.
The crafty wholesalers of eggs have been storing, reveal cold storage owners, since late Ramadan when eggs were comparatively cheaper after a spike earlier. Now the question is, cold storages where the eggs were stored are not meant for storing the item but for potato. Eggs are usually disposed of immediately after hens lay them in farms so that those reach the dining table in a fresh condition. Unwashed eggs stay good in normal condition roughly for two weeks and refrigerated eggs for three months. If eggs are stored in cold storage, there is a price to be paid for the facility.
While in other countries, eggs are refrigerated only in time of production boom, here the trade syndicate hoards those in order to manipulate the market for an artificial crisis. In case of Cumilla egg haul, a team headed by an assistant director of the DNCRP, Cumilla and a magistrate of the district administration conducted the raid on the cold storage which unsurprisingly has no licence. A fine of Tk200,000 was slapped on the cold storage owner. At the same time, a sweetmeat trader who stored 24,000 kilograms of sweets was also fined Tk 60,000.
Intriguingly, the cold storage owner could not or did not divulge the name/names of egg trader or traders who stored the eggs. That the storage owner does not know egg trader/s is unbelievable. There is a procedure under which at least some minimum documents are needed for a deal between traders and cold storage authorities. Although an order was given for marketing the eggs within 48 hours and the agricultural marketing officer of the area was instructed to submit a report whether the eggs and sweetmeat have been duly marketed or not, the move falls short of the need.
The more important thing is to nab the egg traders who stored such a large number of eggs. A police case should be started in order to probe into the matter and catch the real culprit or culprits. A similar move should be initiated for the Madaripur marketing malpractice. If the unholy bunch is quizzed, maybe, a bigger racket will get exposed. The unholy alliances in businesses have gone too far to be contained. If one of those, for example, that of egg, can be broken by meting out exemplary punishment, others will think twice before playing their customary vile game of fleecing consumers. So the question is, if the administration is serious enough to punish the evil syndicates and give the ordinary people some relief from the outrageously manipulated soaring prices.
Last but not least, marketing of sweetmeat hauled raises the issue of the food's shelf life. There was a need for ensuring that the sweets were safe for consumption before giving an order for marketing.
nilratanhalder2000@yahoo.com