The country's essential commodity market has become highly volatile, as prices of one item after another are soaring, leaving millions of commoners in dire straits.
Potato recently joined the price hike rally, hitting Tk 45-70 a kg depending on varieties on Sunday, marking Tk 5.0-8.0 a kg hike in a week and 32-42 per cent hike in a month.
Besides, the price volatility of green chilli, tomato, ginger and garlic continued unabated. Green chilli was selling at Tk 300-450 a kg amid low import as well as massive decline in local production.
Only 671 tonnes of chilli could be imported against permission of the Ministry of Agriculture to bring 52,480 tonnes, according to its Plant Quarantine Wing. Meanwhile, the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP) declared that it would take legal actions against a section of super-shops, involved in selling green chilli at exorbitant prices.
DNCRP Director General (DG) A H M Shafiquzzaman came up with the warning at a view-exchange meeting with super-shop owners, wholesalers and retailers at his office in the capital's Karwan Bazar area on Sunday. It was organised to ensure smooth supply of sugar, green chilli and ginger for bringing stability in their market prices.
"We have information that some super-shops are involved in selling green chilli at prices between Tk 620 and Tk 750 a kilogramme (kg) for making extra profits, whereas its procurement price is Tk 400 a kg."
He also said the realisation of high prices by these super-shops is creating a negative impact on open market prices of the item.
The DNCRP DG mentioned that notices would be served against those shops to explain the reasons behind selling green chilli at higher rates.
He warned that legal actions would be taken against those after three days from the date of serving notices, if their replies are not satisfactory.
Among the super shops, Meena Bazar and Swapno were allegedly selling a kg of green chilli at Tk 750 and Tk 620 respectively, although they procured it at Tk 450 a kg from wholesale markets, according to DNCRP.
However, when the DNCRP officials were exchanging views over prices of chilli, ginger and sugar, potato prices shot up on Sunday.
Md Farid, salesman of Bismillah Store at West Dhanmondi, told the FE that wholesale potato price of cardinal and granola varieties shot up to Tk 38-40 a kg from Tk 32-33 a kg.
"We get three to four kgs of rotten potatoes in per fifty-kg delivery, whose price is adjusted to its final retail price," he added.
Helal Uddin, a potato and vegetable wholesaler, said potato price increased by Tk 6.0-8.0 a kg in last one week in cold-storage gates.
He also said the cold storage owners raised charge for potato storage by Tk 1.0-2.0 a kg this year.
Bangladesh Cold Storage Association (BCSA) said this year around 0.5 million tonnes of potatoes were stored in 400 cold storages.
BCSA president Mostafa Azad Chowdhury Babu said operating cost of storages increased significantly this year amid random load-shedding, which forced the owners to use generators to keep the item fresh. Their operating cost increased by 30-40 per cent for running diesel-driven generators for above ten to twelve hours a day, he noted.
Value chain expert Prof Rashidul Hasan said the first and most necessary thing is getting authentic data on potato production.
The Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) has been claiming that the country's potato production is 11 million tonnes, which is far from the reality, he said. Potato acreage and its production declined this year as per field reports, while a good quantity of the crop was exported.
The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) should disclose authentic data on potato production in one or two days, so that the government can take timely action, he opined.
The potato price would increase further like those of other essential items, if the government does not intervene, said Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) vice president S M Nazer Hossain.
He said the Department of Agricultural Marketing (DAM) exercised its authority to fix potato prices from cold storage and city wholesales to retail level, when its prices shot up to an all-time high of Tk 60-85 a kg in August 2020.
The DAM along with the DNCRP should take the matter seriously and take actions in no time to prevent the market volatility, he concluded.
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