Prime time TV news now shows mobile courts under some magistrates are carrying on raids in wholesale markets like Khatunganj where traders are found guilty of gross violation of the rules of business set by the national board of revenue (NBR). While that takes care of the publicity side of things, the fact that four lemons now cost Tk100 and the retail trader is brash enough to say "take it or leave it" leaves little to imagination about the state of affairs in which consumers invariably discover themselves these days.
With the beginning of Ramadan now, markets will surely come under closer scrutiny. Both electronic and print media have already started reporting on the price hikes in comparison with those of past years. But one common question will of course be, what is the government doing about it? What happened to all those lofty promises made about getting tough with price manipulators? There is talk about big imports of all essentials in the pipeline, but that hardly helps anyone when a very basic Ramadan-item like lemon and other essentials continue to set record prices.
That Bangladesh is following in the footsteps of global food supply chains where a silent oligopoly exists should not come as a surprise to anyone. However, this country's policymakers are uniquely equipped to introduce measures to prevent such an oligopoly to emerge. There is still time to get rid of this problem. However, if the government plays a passive role instead of getting into the act of taking the bull by the horn, the problem will only mount.
The fact that misuse of market power is punishable no longer scares big business. They have been allowed to get away scot-free for decades. There are ample laws in existence today that would enable the government to break up cartels (popularly known as "syndicates) that now control large chunks of the food supply chain. It calls for equipping the various monitoring arms of different branches of the government with powers so that they can go after these cartels and do what needs to be done. If need be, a special bench in the High Court can be constituted to deal exclusively with matters dealing with cartels' abuse of power. The consumer association body in the country needs to be empowered so that it can take companies to court. All these can be done provided that there is enough political will.
The government needs to take a closer look at where its agro-subsidies are going. Sad but true that in most countries, subsidies in general benefit large conglomerates / companies. As the country's agricultural system becomes more and more corporatised, the smaller marginal farmers are feeling the squeeze. Subsidies need to be targeted towards this group if sustainable agricultural practices are to be promoted.
There is such a thing as punishing human rights violations committed by corporations. Indeed, the right to food is incorporated into international agreements and monitored by the UN Commission on Human Rights. While those are overarching agreements, it is up to individual governments to punish these large conglomerates / companies involved in violations in the food sector that threaten the 'right to food'. The problem lies, in the oft-prepeated mingling of big business and politics. It has created a situation where a large number of elected representatives are somehow representatives of businesses and not so much of the people. This is reflected in the arbitrary price rise effected by supply chain players in total disregard for the law.
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