Price rise: What the consumers can do about it?
Wednesday, 17 October 2007
Enayet Rasul
MAINTENANCE of price stability has continued to be at the forefront of the declared priorities of successive governments in Bangladesh. The interim government has also been making utmost efforts to tame the prices of essential commodities. But its success so far has not been up to the mark. Prices continue to rice irrationally and the needs for reining in the runaway prices are so much the greater. Many ideas have been floated and some of these have been also tested. But the same were found to be rather ineffectual in notably pushing down or keeping in harness the rising price lines.
Is there a mechanism instead of the beaten path already followed by governments that would stand a better chance of creating real pressures on the sellers to keep prices in check for their own good ? There is certainly one about which not much thought and attention has been paid so far in Bangladesh. Consumers in Bangladesh have hardly realised the very great powers in their hands which they could use to force the producers, distributors and retail level sellers to almost overnight change their ways of doing business.
In many countries, consumers are found to be very well organised. Consumers' associations set up by the consumers themselves flourish in those countries to protect and promote the various interests of consumers. It is regretful that hardly such organisations exist in Bangladesh. The lone exception is the Consumer Association of Bangladesh (CAB). But CAB's functioning appears to be restricted to issuing periodic assessments reports on the price situation and costs of living. It hardly does anything of real value beyond this. It does not play a rallying role to mobilise the consumers in great number and instruct them to act in a particularly designed way in their interactions with the sellers. But such mobilisation of consumer power has proved to be the most effective against unethical activities of sellers in other countries.
For example, there are consumers' associations in some countries and their memberships run into many millions of the consumers so that these bodies represent formidable consumer power. Some of them deal with common essentials and others with different products. Supposing the price of eggs marks a rise by 15 pence in the UK markets in a short period of time, a consumer association dealing with kitchen items there can be expected in that event to analyse whether there is any acceptable justification for this rise in the price of egg. If there is none, then it may issue a call on the sellers to immediately bring the price down to a reasonable level. If the call goes unheeded, then such an association will issue a call to its members to avoid buying eggs at the higher price. Since consumers' association of this type have a very large membership and because the members remain enlightened and motivated by the association's leadership and its activities, the call for not buying a good or buying it in restricted amounts, is usually heeded on a large scale. Thus, from the prospects of the inability to successfully sell perishable products only for a few days and absorbing the huge losses thereof, the producers and sellers quickly realise that common sense dictates their immediate lowering of the price to prevent the incurring of so great losses on their part.
Something even remotely resembling such a consumer association is not there in Bangladesh today. If such bodies existed and operated in the above manner, then the tyrannies of the most insensitive and most unconscionable price raisers in the markets of this country, could be successfully defeated long ago. For instance, the price of a common vegetable was hiked up to astonishingly high levels recently in the month of Ramadan. It was used to make only one type of Iftari food which most of the fasting people could do without. But there was none to tell them that they ought to stop its consumption for a period to teach the price hikers a lesson or they should have themselves avoided buying it on their own being outraged by its absolutely unacceptable high price. But neither thing happened. The consumers were not told by anybody to stop buying it for a while in a bid to bring down its price . Neither did they have a disturbed feeling from buying it at too high price although they complained about it. Thus, the sellers of this vegetable quite had their way and the consumers were mercilessly ripped off.
This is just one example. Consumers continue to be suckers in millions across Bangladesh, everyday, in respect of thousands of goods. They are acutely conscious of it. The price torments are eroding their purchasing power, biting into their savings and making the poor yet poorer. But the consumers have been tolerating and accepting this state of affairs with great patience although they never stopped complaining bitterly about how exploited they were by the merciless price rise. Therefore, these consumers have nobody but themselves to blame. Even it is ordained in the Holy Koran that Almighty Allah helps those who first seek to help themselves. Nothing will be achieved from just complaining. Changes for the better can come only from working decisively and untidily from a position of strength which in the context of Bangladesh would require the fastest setting up of powerful consumer bodies like in other countries where such bodies are enjoying great success.
In the countries which have successful consumer movements, consumer association are maintained from the tiny monthly contributions of the individual members. The individual contributions are tiny but they add up to an impressive total amount which facilitate these bodies to set up and run central and regional offices, to send regular mail to consumers on issues of their interest, to issue notices to their members to act in a certain manner and to engage in a gamut of other activities involving consumers' interests.
It is high time for Bangladesh to have such consumer organisations. Not having them is the main reason for the sellers maintaining their one sided stranglehold on the consumers. It would be impractical to blame the government for not setting up such bodies. After all, private persons-- whatever their number --in the fitness of things should form their own organisations. They can expect, at most, a facilitating governmental role such as lease of government lands to set up and run the offices of such organisations, helping the sending of mail at concession rates, etc. But the main endeavour to form such bodies must come from the rank and the file of the people themselves. Mass media, specially the press, can float the idea of forming such consumer associations extensively. Media can run a campaign for a length of time to imprint the idea of the need for, and usefulness of, such consumer bodies. Social and philanthropic organisations can take strong initiatives in this matter. Groups representing civil society can exchange views with the CAB with a view to much strengthening the latter for it to emerge as the first powerful organisation of this kind in Bangladesh.
All of these things happening at an early date, will hopefully propel the country towards the goal of having these organisations as functional realities in a short period of time.
MAINTENANCE of price stability has continued to be at the forefront of the declared priorities of successive governments in Bangladesh. The interim government has also been making utmost efforts to tame the prices of essential commodities. But its success so far has not been up to the mark. Prices continue to rice irrationally and the needs for reining in the runaway prices are so much the greater. Many ideas have been floated and some of these have been also tested. But the same were found to be rather ineffectual in notably pushing down or keeping in harness the rising price lines.
Is there a mechanism instead of the beaten path already followed by governments that would stand a better chance of creating real pressures on the sellers to keep prices in check for their own good ? There is certainly one about which not much thought and attention has been paid so far in Bangladesh. Consumers in Bangladesh have hardly realised the very great powers in their hands which they could use to force the producers, distributors and retail level sellers to almost overnight change their ways of doing business.
In many countries, consumers are found to be very well organised. Consumers' associations set up by the consumers themselves flourish in those countries to protect and promote the various interests of consumers. It is regretful that hardly such organisations exist in Bangladesh. The lone exception is the Consumer Association of Bangladesh (CAB). But CAB's functioning appears to be restricted to issuing periodic assessments reports on the price situation and costs of living. It hardly does anything of real value beyond this. It does not play a rallying role to mobilise the consumers in great number and instruct them to act in a particularly designed way in their interactions with the sellers. But such mobilisation of consumer power has proved to be the most effective against unethical activities of sellers in other countries.
For example, there are consumers' associations in some countries and their memberships run into many millions of the consumers so that these bodies represent formidable consumer power. Some of them deal with common essentials and others with different products. Supposing the price of eggs marks a rise by 15 pence in the UK markets in a short period of time, a consumer association dealing with kitchen items there can be expected in that event to analyse whether there is any acceptable justification for this rise in the price of egg. If there is none, then it may issue a call on the sellers to immediately bring the price down to a reasonable level. If the call goes unheeded, then such an association will issue a call to its members to avoid buying eggs at the higher price. Since consumers' association of this type have a very large membership and because the members remain enlightened and motivated by the association's leadership and its activities, the call for not buying a good or buying it in restricted amounts, is usually heeded on a large scale. Thus, from the prospects of the inability to successfully sell perishable products only for a few days and absorbing the huge losses thereof, the producers and sellers quickly realise that common sense dictates their immediate lowering of the price to prevent the incurring of so great losses on their part.
Something even remotely resembling such a consumer association is not there in Bangladesh today. If such bodies existed and operated in the above manner, then the tyrannies of the most insensitive and most unconscionable price raisers in the markets of this country, could be successfully defeated long ago. For instance, the price of a common vegetable was hiked up to astonishingly high levels recently in the month of Ramadan. It was used to make only one type of Iftari food which most of the fasting people could do without. But there was none to tell them that they ought to stop its consumption for a period to teach the price hikers a lesson or they should have themselves avoided buying it on their own being outraged by its absolutely unacceptable high price. But neither thing happened. The consumers were not told by anybody to stop buying it for a while in a bid to bring down its price . Neither did they have a disturbed feeling from buying it at too high price although they complained about it. Thus, the sellers of this vegetable quite had their way and the consumers were mercilessly ripped off.
This is just one example. Consumers continue to be suckers in millions across Bangladesh, everyday, in respect of thousands of goods. They are acutely conscious of it. The price torments are eroding their purchasing power, biting into their savings and making the poor yet poorer. But the consumers have been tolerating and accepting this state of affairs with great patience although they never stopped complaining bitterly about how exploited they were by the merciless price rise. Therefore, these consumers have nobody but themselves to blame. Even it is ordained in the Holy Koran that Almighty Allah helps those who first seek to help themselves. Nothing will be achieved from just complaining. Changes for the better can come only from working decisively and untidily from a position of strength which in the context of Bangladesh would require the fastest setting up of powerful consumer bodies like in other countries where such bodies are enjoying great success.
In the countries which have successful consumer movements, consumer association are maintained from the tiny monthly contributions of the individual members. The individual contributions are tiny but they add up to an impressive total amount which facilitate these bodies to set up and run central and regional offices, to send regular mail to consumers on issues of their interest, to issue notices to their members to act in a certain manner and to engage in a gamut of other activities involving consumers' interests.
It is high time for Bangladesh to have such consumer organisations. Not having them is the main reason for the sellers maintaining their one sided stranglehold on the consumers. It would be impractical to blame the government for not setting up such bodies. After all, private persons-- whatever their number --in the fitness of things should form their own organisations. They can expect, at most, a facilitating governmental role such as lease of government lands to set up and run the offices of such organisations, helping the sending of mail at concession rates, etc. But the main endeavour to form such bodies must come from the rank and the file of the people themselves. Mass media, specially the press, can float the idea of forming such consumer associations extensively. Media can run a campaign for a length of time to imprint the idea of the need for, and usefulness of, such consumer bodies. Social and philanthropic organisations can take strong initiatives in this matter. Groups representing civil society can exchange views with the CAB with a view to much strengthening the latter for it to emerge as the first powerful organisation of this kind in Bangladesh.
All of these things happening at an early date, will hopefully propel the country towards the goal of having these organisations as functional realities in a short period of time.