From low-income people to middle-income families — everyone seems to be burning their hands in the market. The discomfort in rice, pulses and oil prices was already there; Newly added to this list are onions, flour, flour, chicken, eggs and some other daily necessities. The prices of daily necessities like cooking gas, soap and toothpaste have also gone up. All in all, when it comes to running the household, there is more bad news. Marketing companies are proposing to raise the price of edible oil and sugar further. The prices of food products are increasing in the world market. Fuel oil and gas prices also rose. Even in this difficult situation, the role of the government remains limited. Demands for tax exemption on oil and sugar were raised, but were not met.
Officially, the range of activities to sell rice, pulses, oil and sugar at lower prices is also limited compared to demand.
But now in front of the government’s mobile center selling rice and daily necessities, the crowd of people with limited income is the largest in recent times. Concerned people say that more crowds could have been seen during the tenure of the previous caretaker government. Then the prices of essential commodities rose abnormally. On condition of anonymity, a furniture trader from Kazipara in the capital said he was now waiting for a truck from the government-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB). After standing for a few hours, he bought oil and sugar and returned home. The price of everything is high now. The market price of one kg of rice is 60 rupees. A liter of soybean oil costs 150 rupees. A few days ago, a kg of broiler chicken could be bought for 120 rupees, now it is 185 rupees. Business has not been good for two years.
How much the prices of daily commodities have increased in the market during the Corona period
Corona infection was detected in the country on March 6 last year. From then on, panic shopping started, which is called ‘panic buying’. Prices continue to rise. Reviewing TCB’s market price list for March 1, 2020 and last Thursday, it is seen that the average price of coarse rice is now 31.5 per cent, open flour 20, open flour 33, one liter soybean oil bottle 43, sugar 19, coarse lentil pulses 30. And 13 percent more than powdered milk. Let’s give the example of edible oil A family of five requires about one liter of soybean oil. In October last year, the price of this amount of oil was 505 rupees. Now it costs 800 rupees to buy it.
The price printed on the bottle varies from Rs 628 to Rs 648 depending on the brand. As a result, ROO in a family seems to be as high as ROO per month just to buy edible oil. Prices of onion, lentil pulses, broiler chicken, eggs and vegetables have gone up in the market in two weeks. The price of onion has almost doubled.The local onion that could be bought at Rs 40 per kg now costs Rs 80. There is no festival or occasion, but the price of broiler chicken has reached Rs 160 per kg, which is usually between Rs 120 and Rs 140.
Only the prices of food items and necessities have gone up comparatively
The price of hilsa has not come down this year either. It costs Rs 550 per kg to buy small prawns for cooking, but where is the cost of buying vegetables? Most of them cost Rs 50 to Rs 60 per kg. A brand of soap weighing 100 grams used to cost Rs 35. They are now selling it at Rs 40. The price of various products including detergent, toothpaste, coconut oil, toilet tissue has gone up.A packet of tissue from another well-known brand cost Rs 18, which is now Rs 20. Money has to be bought, which means that a family’s monthly expenditure on tissue has increased by 18 percent.
Reasons for rising prices of essential commodities
One of the reasons for the increase in the prices of most of the daily necessities and consumer goods is the world market. Prices of edible oil, wheat, sugar, pulses, powdered milk and various industrial raw materials increased in the international market. With increased freight. This growth trend started from the beginning of this year. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) food price report, food prices in the world market rose by 4.8 percent in May, the highest monthly growth rate since 2010. The food price index is now at its highest level since 2011. Note that from 2007 to 2008 and from 2010 to 2013, the price of food in the world market was much higher.
At that time there was economic and political instability in different countries of the world. Exporting countries control trade in food products to control their markets. Market analysts have blamed supply disruptions, declining production, rising fuel prices and freight rates, and stockpiling in various countries for the rise. Where the situation is heading, worse times await in the coming days. However, the people concerned say that the world market alone cannot be blamed for the rise in prices in the country. The manipulation of traders is also responsible in this case. For example, they point to the price of onion, saying that the price of onion in the country’s market has doubled in just two weeks with a slight increase in price in India.
Government activities are limited
When the prices of essential commodities go up, the government increases the supervision of lightning. In many cases, tax exemptions are used by the government to control the price of goods by increasing sales at lower prices. TCB is now selling edible oil, sugar, pulses and onions in about four and a half hundred trucks a day across the country. The amount was pretty much the same a few months ago. Last April, the company raised sugar and soybean oil prices. Now not giving more than two liters of soybean oil to a single customer, which was five liters before. During the Corona period, the Food Department could not take a comprehensive program to sell rice and flour. Now they have increased sales. From July 1 to September 30, rice and flour sales increased by 30 percent.
The price of daily commodities is rising in the world market and the amount of tax is increasing
However, the people concerned say that it is less than necessary. They say that if the government had sold a significant amount of rice at a lower price, the price of coarse rice in the market would have come down. It will increase further. The Commerce Ministry said it had written to the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to reduce oil and sugar taxes. Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh said on Saturday, “There has been no response so far after the tax reduction letter. The Commerce Ministry has called a meeting on the commodity price situation on Monday. The meeting will discuss tax reduction, said the Commerce Secretary.
He said the issue of onion duty is also being reviewed. All daily necessities will be discussed in the meeting on Monday. Traders claim that the tax on sugar is now Tk 28 per kg and edible oil is Tk 20. Since the tax on the price of goods is collected at a percentage rate, the amount of tax also increases when the price in the world market increases. Meanwhile, business sources said the government has been asked to increase the price of soybean oil by Tk 11 to Tk 164 per liter and the price of sugar by Tk 9 to Tk 84 per kg.
