Trying a new system to rein in prices

The government is set to replace the 'delivery order' (DO) system - an arrangement that has been in practice, albeit informally, since long by traders in the transactions of essential commodities, mainly sugar and edible oils -- with a new system, 'distributorship'. A Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) to this effect is to be enforced now. It allows the producers and importers of essential goods a maximum of 90 days to complete the appointment of their distributors across the country. The producers/importers concerned would be required to make available the lists of distributors to an official cell that would be tasked to monitor the implementation of the provisions of the new SRO. And to make the transactions of essentials transparent, the producers and importers would have to issue supply orders to their respective distributors; such orders will contain detailed information about the distributors, prices of commodities etc.; the monitoring cell will have to be periodically informed about the quantities of goods supplied to their distributors. In the backdrop of an unabated rise in the price of essential commodities particularly that of edible oils and sugar, the government had been aloud for quite sometime about scrapping the 'DO' system that earned a bad name over the years. The 'DO' system, it is alleged, has been abused at times by the traders concerned and the middlemen to make undue profit, causing immense sufferings to the poor consumers. One of the major ways of abusing it has been the 'DOs', given by the producers and importers of goods to traders first, changing several hands before ending up with real wholesalers. The involvement of so many intermediaries has been making it easier to push up the prices of the commodities and also to create, at times, an artificial supply crisis. The government's move to replace the 'DO' system has reportedly not gone well with the producers and importers of essential commodities for reasons of bothersome tasks of appointing distributors and keeping the proposed monitoring cell, headed by a member of tariff commission, informed about the goods supplied to the distributors. The operations of the new system are yet to begin for all practical purposes. But there are some potent reasons to consider it a better approach to keeping a watch on the price- and- supply situation about essential commodities. It is also expected to involve no direct intervention by the government in the market. However, the taste of the pudding, as the proverbial saying goes, lies in its eating. As far as "distributorship" which is to replace the 'DO' system, is concerned, it is to be noted that its success would largely depend on a host of factors, including sincerity and integrity of the monitoring cell and willingness of the stakeholders concerned to cooperate with the government to help maintain price stability. There is no denying that any price-hike of the daily consumables, no matter whether it has justified reason/s or not, is a development that hurts most the interest of consumers. On occasions, the prices of many goods are found to go up in the domestic market, in keeping with the developments in the international market. But the consumers become resentful when the traders tend to increase the price instantly, without taking the goods that are available in their stock and were imported earlier at lower costs, into consideration. In this situation, the new system could prove to be a handy tool for the government deal, at least partially, with any abnormal rise in the prices of essentials in the domestic market, provided the agencies concerned remain adequately updated with the information about international prices of the same. Consumers would be happy if the new system works and delivers positive results for them.