The market volatility of basic staples is a story that refuses to die. That's because the market has largely been left to the whims of commercial entities that control the supply chain. What has come as a surprise is that market monitoring activities of the government agencies concerned have been waning for some time now. The data speak for itself. According to a recent report published in this newspaper, public documents show that the authorities have drastically scaled down market monitoring with consumers bearing the full brunt of atrocious increase in prices on a month-to-month basis. "In the financial year 2022-23 (July 2022-June 2023), only 408 market drives were conducted, marking a 46 per cent drop compared to the 759 drives carried out in the previous year, according to the government's annual performance agreement (APA) documents."
Putting all this into perspective, prices of wheat flour jumped from Tk70 to Tk80, eggs (per dozen) hovered between Tk 165 - Tk 180, broiler chicken prices soared to a high of Tk 280-Tk 290 per kilogram (kg) - the list goes on. Recent interventions that had nothing to do with government monitoring, rather, a move by some traders selling beef at nearly Tk200/kg (kilogram) less than the going rate of Tk800 a few weeks ago has blown the lid off market manipulation. The mantra till now had been to squeeze as much out of consumers as possible until demand dropped drastically. That is precisely what had happened with beef and it dawned upon some butchers to do what is done in the rest of the world, i.e. increase volume of sales and keep profit per kilogram low to ensure the overall profit. While the authorities have been quick to sensationalise the move by some traders showering them with accolades, it hardly absolves the agencies that are supposed to keep market prices in check via monitoring.
So, the question is why the government had slashed market drives to 408 in 2023 from 720 in 2022 (a drop of nearly 45 per cent) at a time when the market for foodstuffs were spiralling out of control? Those drives were effective, to some extent, and should have been continued. Instead, the authorities allowed the import of some food items which was more baffling, because the country has been under tremendous strain to maintain its depleting foreign currency reserves. Yet, that was the decision taken and it proved futile, for obvious reasons.
Take the case of egg price volatility for example. The government had fixed the price of egg at Tk12 per piece in September and the Directorate of National Consumers' Right Protection (DNCRP) and the administration were tasked with its monitoring. This was a nonstarter to begin with because the fines levied on law-breakers were so paltry, that it made more financial sense to flout the directive than obey it. When this didn't work, the government decided to import 40 million eggs in the first phase, expanding it to 60 million in the second go. Those eggs never made it to the market due to import complications and the difficulties in opening letters of credit. This was not unknown to market manipulators and precisely what difference would 40 or 100 million eggs have made in a market that consumes 40 million eggs a day?
Theatrics like this are not going to calm prices. It is necessary to increase vigilance and that means dealing with manpower constraints in the DNCRP and other agencies involved with market monitoring, not just in the capital city but nationwide. Consumers need respite not promises / media sensationalism and that can only happen if effective, weekly drives against profiteers become the norm.
mansur.thefinancialexpress@gmail.com