Photo : Messenger
The rising prices of daily necessities have become a main topic of discussion. The increase in the prices of daily needs affects common people. The prices of everyday essentials are increasing at such an abnormal, unexpected and sudden rate that they suffer from depression. The living conditions are becoming miserable daily for low-income to low and middle-class people. For them, the rise in the prices of daily necessities has emerged as a new threat because they have to struggle to cope with this shock of the price hike. If it continues like this, the patience of ordinary people can be exceeded.
Therefore, the relevant authorities, including the government, should take effective steps to control the prices of daily necessities. Many people have lost their jobs in the last one and a half years due to the Global recession and instability. The salaries of many have not increased much. Again, on various pretexts, the owners are reducing the workers' wages. Incidents like retrenchment are happening very often. It is very easy to imagine what will happen to these people if the prices of goods do not decrease. However, one has to look at the long queues of people standing in front of TCB's product carts or OMS products to understand exactly how price hikes affect common people's lives. Prices of all kinds of goods have increased. Rising commodity prices have heated the market for raw materials, and the cost of educational materials that students buy has also increased substantially. Prices have increased from soap, shampoo to all cosmetics and detergents.
Recently, the price of sugar and onion has risen again. The reasons for this abnormal rise in commodity prices are mostly traders' addiction to extra profit, illegal stocking of any commodity, shortage of raw materials and fuel required for the production of foodstuffs or market essentials, non-fixation of fair and fixed prices, lack of proper market supervision and monitoring, etc. However, in addition to these issues, the gas, oil and electricity crisis or the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war have also made market regulation difficult. Taking advantage of the Russia-Ukraine war, a class of unscrupulous traders unnecessarily raise the prices of goods. Lack of proper supervision by the government, increase in the price of energy, increase in the price of goods in the international market, devaluation of money against the dollar, creation of artificial crisis in the market by unscrupulous traders, etc. are also considered by many to be responsible for the increase in the prices of daily commodities.
The current market situation has created a lot of stress among the common people. In this way, the cost of living is also increasing due to the continuous increase in commodity prices. It has become very difficult for common people to meet these expenses. Rising prices of essential commodities are increasingly becoming a national problem. Joint efforts of all are necessary to solve this problem. One of the most effective measures to stabilise commodity prices is strictly controlling hoarding, syndicate and black marketing. Experts believe that it will be much easier to control commodity prices if the circles of dishonest traders are identified and brought to book. If the supply of the product is ensured according to the customer's demand in the market, the product's price can be controlled. Legal action should be taken against any irregularities to keep the market under control. In this case, the mobile court should be strengthened.
Agricultural systems should be developed to produce more productive crops. Care should be taken to ensure that the import of raw materials required for the smooth production of mills and factories is uninterrupted. Government control over the market system is most important for controlling commodity prices. In this case, traders should be closely monitored and careful to maintain product prices. Experts say if the price of goods increases like this, it will put pressure on our economy quickly. So, the government should take timely and effective steps now. In this case, the first thing that needs to be done is that the institutions involved in market regulation, such as the Directorate of Consumer Rights Protection and the Ministry of Commerce, must take strict measures.
The miscreants who create artificial crises and suddenly increase the prices of commodities in the market must be eliminated. Apart from ensuring proper law enforcement, special attention should be paid to ensure that unscrupulous traders do not stockpile products illegally. Even the government needs to be more proactive in overcoming import dependency. Upazila-wise cold storage should be established for proper storage of perishable food products. Every year 30 percent of food products in the country are wasted due to lack of storage. Hence, adequate storage for food products will reduce the prices of essential commodities.
Along with the government, people also have to play an active role. Apart from preventing wastage, special attention should be paid to ensure that even an inch of land is not left uncultivated as per the directives of the Hon'ble Prime Minister. If we try to produce the goods we need, then on the one hand, the tendency to import will decrease, and also, the evil intentions of the profiteers will be thwarted. We do not have complete control of the market, but if we are aware, the rise in daily necessities is bound to decrease. By paying attention to these issues and taking appropriate measures, controlling the rise in commodity prices will be possible.
The government will ensure that no problem is created in the import of daily essentials. Moreover, special monitoring will be ensured for uninterrupted supply chain and logical pricing of stocked products in the market. need to legal action will be taken if anyone tries to create an artificial crisis of any product in the market.
In conclusion, it can be said that the government has to be active in controlling the market. There is a need to strike a balance between the government’s good will and practical plans and the demand and supply of commodities. Full utilisation of the country’s agricultural production must be ensured. To keep the transportation of goods smooth, especially in the supply of All products, the authorities concerned should keep an eye to ensure that there is no obstacle.
The writer is a development activist and freelance journalist. He can be reached at: [email protected].
Messenger/Fameema
