Taming irrational market operators of essentials

Syed Fattahul AlimbrThe Ramadan prices of essential commodities have marked a sharp rise compared to their pre-Ramadan level despite all kinds of exhortations from the authorities and promises from the trading community. The sudden upward spiral of prices, however, is common before every Ramadan. But this time public expectation was different given the fact that the caretaker government, especially its advisers concerned had intensive dialogues with the business community over the price issue. Moreover, there are also strict legal provisions in place to bring the errant traders violating the standard price charts found hanging at every kitchen market of the city as elsewhere. The leaders of the apex business body of the country also assured that the Ramadan prices of the essential commodities would behave rationally this time. But all these hopes and assurances turned out to be all moonshine on the very first day of the holy month of Ramadan.brAs usual, the hapless consumers have been made to face the power of the unrepentant and mercilessly profit-hungry traders of the essential commodities market. Apparently, the consumer folk of the country do also look quite docile when they should in the ideal situation protest against any irrational rise in the prices of commodities in the marketplace. On the contrary, it is seen that they would rather grudge, but finally accept everything as a fait accompli. The traders emboldened by the indifference of the general public towards their excesses, gleefully defy all the pleas and warnings from the authorities to be less greedy especially during the holy month of Ramadan.brThis time leaders of the apex business body of the country have themselves been exasperated at the brazenness of kitchen market dealers. In fact, some traders were playing hide and seek at certain markets of Karwan Bazaar and New Market in the city as the leaders of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) visited those spots as part of their market monitoring drive to see for themselves how the traders are complying with the price chart on display. They were shocked to see the situation on the ground. brHowever, some of the sellers tried to misguide the visiting business leaders by saying that they were selling the goods according to the price chart, while the customers present there instantly contested their false claims. Some less venal ones among the kitchen market dealers, however, made no bones about their helplessness in the face of the wholesalers' manipulative tactics of restricting the volume of supply of commodities to the retailers thereby artificially creating a demand-supply gap. And the sharp climb of the price curve on the very first day of the Ramadan is reflective of this devious mechanism of the wholesalers. However, one may recall here that the wholesalers, too, had claimed innocence and blamed the price surge on the whims and caprices of the retailers. So this is a case of endless cat and mouse game between the retailers, the wholesalers, the questioning public, the law enforcing agencies and other market monitors. brGetting frustrated over the situation, the business leaders, however, invoked the legal provisions to chastise the errant retailers cheating the public on the prescribed price chart of the commodities.br One may also recall here the repeated assurances the business adviser and others had made to the effect that the essentials prices would not be allowed shoot up during the Ramadan. brTo all appearances, all the persuasions, threats and pleas have failed to leave any impact on the market operators. And now the consumer public is again playing the role of the onlookers. brIt is not that the consumer public, who have to pay through their nose whenever the prices go up, are really a passive lot. Not in the least. For many are witness to how violent they may turn whenever any criminal or anti-social element is caught in the act by the public. Those are but an expression of their moral outrage at its worst. But in the cases of irrational price hikes, the consumer public certainly get upset, but they still demonstrate the extraordinary capacity of reining in the destructive forces of chaos and anarchy at the market places. Though it is the job of the social psychologists to find out what factors act as deterrents to restrain the members of the public harassed to their limit by the retail traders at the marketplaces from turning into a mindless mob, the apparent reason may be that the public still do not consider the traders as anti-socials or criminals. They still consider even the super-greedy traders as otherwise normal public. Had it not been so, the nation would be witness to a quite different picture at the roadside bazaars everyday and in that case business as usual would become impossible in this country. brSo one should rather thank the otherwise docile-looking public, whom any group having some semblance of power or authority is wont to take for a ride, for their limitless tolerance in the face of all the irrationalities all around the marketplace. brBut even such tolerance of the public should not be taken for granted. In fact, it is exactly at this point that the question of mobilising the public through increasing their awareness about their consumer rights arises. brTrue, there are certain consumer rights bodies in the country. But one would hardly see any activity of these rights bodies on the ground. In fact, they should work among the public at the very spot where the problem arises. They should be properly staffed so that the consumers cheated by the traders might immediately complain to them for redress. The consumer rights bodies, on the other hand, should work in close cooperation with the administration, especially the law enforcing agencies, the business bodies including the association of the traders at the particular kitchen market in question. It is the necessary dedication of the rights body to work on the ground supported by adequate manpower that will make the general consumers feel that they have someone to look after their interest and even fight for it at the marketplace. In case of any irrational behaviour of market, the rights bodies can directly look into the matter, find out its real cause, take mitigation measures where possible and inform the public of the developments. But if the situation turns out to beyond repairs, they may take the help of the administration to sort out the issue as well as mobilise the public against the unreasonable market behaviour. The political parties, which are often used to pandering to the wrong constituencies, may also be involved to influence their cronies flexing muscles at the marketplace against the interest of the general consumers. brThe enhanced role of the consumer bodies, however, does not rule out the government's own mechanism to monitor the market. In fact, the main role of the consumer bodies would be to make the public aware about the consumer laws and mobilise them against any anti-people move of the greedy and unscrupulous traders at the marketplace in cooperation with the law and other public institutions. At the same time, the government and its various other agencies need to work in their own way to monitor or discharge other functions to bring the wild behaviour of our essential commodities market under reasonable control. In fact, given the past records of failure of the various agencies to rein in the commodities market and thereby protecting the consumers' interest, it will not be possible for any single agency to do the job of taming the essentials market. brIt must be understood that the irrational behaviour of the essential commodities market is not purely a law and order issue. It is the distorted market structure itself that is largely to blame for this situation. And the marketplace has naturally remained beholden to the vested quarters among the business community, the middlemen, administration and even some public bodies. In a sense, it is an extension of corruption syndicates in the country. So, the fight against this other constant menace bleeding the public without let up is deeply linked to the overall fight against corruption and other sins of society. Strong public awareness and the readiness to fight the curse through to the end through a protracted engagement is the answer to the irrational behaviour of the essentials market. All the quarters now railing against the arrogant and defiant essentials market operators should be prepared to fight the scourge till the end.