Fish, kitchen mkt traders threaten to boycott wholesalers

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Fish and kitchen-market traders threatened boycott of wholesalers if their demands were not met in five days, alleging that the retailers are being cheated at weight and price at the wholesale markets in the capital, reports UNB.
Dhaka Metropolitan Fish and Kitchen Market Small Traders Association Saturday issued the ultimatum for meeting their demands, particularly to stop the charging of extra money by wholesalers, by November 15.
They would refrain from buying fishes, vegetables and other kitchen items from the wholesale markets for three days each by rotation, beginning with Mugda wholesale market, after the deadline.
Leaders of the association at a press conference at its Topkhana office demanded the setting up of government-run fish storehouses at different kitchen markets in the city to help them run their business smoothly.
If the government does so, it will be possible to maintain all the market-regulatory formalities from the proposed fish-houses.
They called for properly implementing the government decision adopted in the inter-ministerial meeting held at LGRD Ministry on September 12.
It was decided in the meeting that the wholesalers would not take extra money in the name of 'kayeli', receipt of the sold goods must be provided to the retailers and they wouldn't be defrauded in weight. "But the wholesalers didn't follow the government decision," the association leaders alleged.
Terming the Kayeli system of the middlemen as extortion, chairman of the association Anwar Hossain Shikder said fish wholesalers take at least Tk 5 per kilogram of fish as kayeli charge and also cheat the retailers by deceiving in weight.
He said the wholesalers also take some fishes from the retailers after selling those in the name of 'Khoraki', thus causing the price hike of fish.
Anwar Hossain also alleged that the wholesalers, for maintaining their supremacy over the fish market, order Dhaka-bound fish sellers from different districts over mobile phone not to come to the capital telling them that prices here are very low. "In this way, they control the market creating artificial crisis," he said.
Responding to a query, Anwar said, "We have no alternative but to go to the fish wholesalers. If the government builds some fish storehouses, such artificial crisis and price hike can be eased."