Pricey rice and other essentials
Monday, 23 June 2008
Consumers in Bangladesh have been wailing for price normalisation and stabilisation and umpteenth times they were told that help for them would be on the way. But every time their expectations were given a boost to be only cruelly shattered later on by those who promised them the relief. The consumers here were also told that they were luckier than their counterparts in many countries where price rises of essentials have been substantially larger than Bangladesh. But consumers in many of those countries have enjoyed much greater purchasing power than that of this country to withstand such pressures on the costs of living. The same cannot be said about Bangladeshis whose per capita income is a meagre one by world comparisons. Thus, not unlike in other countries of the world, government's legitimate stronger playing of a role in the markets is justified to ease consumers' sufferings.
A recent study report by a non-government think-tank highlighted that poverty rose from 40 per cent to 48.5 per cent over the past two years and the income of the poor fell by as much as 36.7 per cent over the past 15 months. The government has, however, rejected such findings. Hardly governments anywhere like to fully recognise or accept the failures on their part. But the government did not reject the findings of the think-tank with vigour. That signified that it also silently acknowledged to some extent the objectivity of the study. In that case, is it not normal to expect that the government would direct its attention with more seriousness towards stabilising prices ? The suffering consumers of modest means probably have revised their expectation already and no more think that prices would be brought down to levels of two or three years ago. But they can surely hope for prices of essentials to rise no further and they have very valid reasons for such hopes. The production of the basic staple, rice, has been an all record breaking high one recently. The same is the case of potatoes, another staple food. Potato has been produced far in surplus of the total demand for it in the country. But stupefying everybody, the prices of various categories of rice and potato, are noted to be rising in the market. The same is also noted in cases of other essentials such as cooking oil, pulses, powdered milk, baby food, etc.
The commerce adviser had earlier roused much confidence by expressing his resolve to take on the menace of price rise with a new determination with the tools to do. He then indicated that regular price monitoring of essentials would be imminently introduced with accompanying institutional capabilities to make government's price monitoring and related activities successful. The adviser is on record for pledging that the prices of a basket of core essential commodities would be strictly monitored to ensure that their prices remain reasonable or stable. But what happened to such promises ? A recent report in this paper noted that the establishment of a permanent price monitoring cell is going nowhere and the same uncertainty has gripped the formation of support institutions to give teeth to this cell. It is well understood that the key government functionaries are at present too occupied with political affairs. But giving due attention to the urgently required measures to keep the prices of essentials within reasonable bounds in the public interest or in the interest of not pushing the non-affluent ones in the population into worse miseries must not escape the priority attention of the government. There is no denying here that there are no quick fixes to the prevailing price situation, caused by both international and domestic factors. The supply-side factors constitute one major problem for the prices shooting up in the market. The government does need to address this problem in a serious manner while not forsaking its needed monitoring and related responsibilities.
A recent study report by a non-government think-tank highlighted that poverty rose from 40 per cent to 48.5 per cent over the past two years and the income of the poor fell by as much as 36.7 per cent over the past 15 months. The government has, however, rejected such findings. Hardly governments anywhere like to fully recognise or accept the failures on their part. But the government did not reject the findings of the think-tank with vigour. That signified that it also silently acknowledged to some extent the objectivity of the study. In that case, is it not normal to expect that the government would direct its attention with more seriousness towards stabilising prices ? The suffering consumers of modest means probably have revised their expectation already and no more think that prices would be brought down to levels of two or three years ago. But they can surely hope for prices of essentials to rise no further and they have very valid reasons for such hopes. The production of the basic staple, rice, has been an all record breaking high one recently. The same is the case of potatoes, another staple food. Potato has been produced far in surplus of the total demand for it in the country. But stupefying everybody, the prices of various categories of rice and potato, are noted to be rising in the market. The same is also noted in cases of other essentials such as cooking oil, pulses, powdered milk, baby food, etc.
The commerce adviser had earlier roused much confidence by expressing his resolve to take on the menace of price rise with a new determination with the tools to do. He then indicated that regular price monitoring of essentials would be imminently introduced with accompanying institutional capabilities to make government's price monitoring and related activities successful. The adviser is on record for pledging that the prices of a basket of core essential commodities would be strictly monitored to ensure that their prices remain reasonable or stable. But what happened to such promises ? A recent report in this paper noted that the establishment of a permanent price monitoring cell is going nowhere and the same uncertainty has gripped the formation of support institutions to give teeth to this cell. It is well understood that the key government functionaries are at present too occupied with political affairs. But giving due attention to the urgently required measures to keep the prices of essentials within reasonable bounds in the public interest or in the interest of not pushing the non-affluent ones in the population into worse miseries must not escape the priority attention of the government. There is no denying here that there are no quick fixes to the prevailing price situation, caused by both international and domestic factors. The supply-side factors constitute one major problem for the prices shooting up in the market. The government does need to address this problem in a serious manner while not forsaking its needed monitoring and related responsibilities.