The continuous decline in the prices of edible oil, sugar and pulses in the international market, and the recent Bangladesh currency appreciation against the US dollar, have lowered import costs, but not the prices of these essentials in the local market.
Ramadan begins Thursday with prices of essential food items having already seen a significant rise.
The month-long market-monitoring campaign spearheaded by the commerce ministry, in a bid to curtail soaring commodity prices, fell flat.
On July 2, business leaders pledged to keep prices lower during Ramadan and the commerce secretary warned of stern action against price manipulation, but no reflection of their promises has been seen at the consumer level.
There is no reason for the prices to shoot up, analysts say, adding that there is an adequate stock of these essentials in both private and public sectors.
It is just an artificial crisis created by unscrupulous traders with political clout, they observed.
According to Bloomberg – a premier site for business and financial market news, the price of soybean oil in the international market, fell by 11% between July 8 and January 1.
Data from the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh shows that the price of one litre of unpacked soybean oil was between Tk107 and Tk109 last Sunday, whereas it had been between Tk106 and Tk108, a month ago.
A survey of several of Dhaka’s kitchen markets Wednesday revealed that prices of unpacked soybean oil rose by up to Tk5 a litre over the past couple of weeks and was selling between Tk115-Tk120.
At present, the country has a stock of 203,535 metric tonnes of edible oil both in private and public sectors, and another 107,857 are in the pipeline, according to the commerce ministry.
Analysing the stock of edible oil, the commerce ministry, in a statement, said there is no possibility of increasing the price of edible oil in the country.
Forgotten promises, fooled consumers
Business leaders and commerce ministry officials discussed the ways to keep prices in check during Ramadan at a meeting on July 2. There Md Golam Mowla, President of Bangladesh Wholesale Edible Oil Businessmen Association, promised to sell edible oil at tolerable price.
“Edible oil will be sold at the water price and sugar at what salt is being sold,” he said. “We have sufficient supply of those two items.”
He said prices of essentials like ginger, onion, garlic, date, gram, pulse and edible oil will remain steady in Ramadan as the country has surplus quantity of stock.
FBCCI President Kazi Akramuddin Ahmed, who presided over the meeting, said the government and businessmen have been working together to keep the prices of essentials stable.
At the same meeting, Commerce Secretary Mahbub Ahmed urged traders to hang price list of essentials in the market so that consumers can justify the prices.
Fourteen monitoring teams already formed by the commerce ministry to monitor market during the holy month. “There is enough stock of essentials both in public and private sectors. So, there is little chance for rising prices of daily essentials during Ramadan,” said Ahmed.
But prices have gone up ignoring all promises and warnings.
Asked, Golam Mowla now puts the blame on importers.
“Ask them (importers). They are right persons to answer for the price increase,” Muhammed Golam Mowla, president of Bangladesh Wholesale Edible Oil Traders Association, told the Dhaka Tribune Wednesday.
Top importers like City Group, Noorjahan Group, S Alam Group and Meghna Group could not be reached over phone despite repeated attempts.
According to Bloomberg, in international markets the price of sugar dropped nearly by 20% to $16.32 per pound on July 8 from January 1.
Annual demand for sugar in the country is 116,000 metric tonnes and this demand rises to 180,000 metric tonnes during the month of Ramadan.
The commerce ministry said, statistics project a stable sugar price during the month of Ramadan.
It also said traders fixed the prices of sugar and edible oil for the month of Ramadan a week back.
The mill gate price of per kilogram of sugar has been set at Tk41.5, while the maximum wholesale price is Tk42.5 and the retail price Tk45.5, added the statement.
“It is a yearly routine. Before the start of Ramadan, prices of essentials go up and the administration fails to control them,” said Kazi Faruk, president of Consumers Association of Bangladesh.
He said this is nothing new that businessmen having political clout will always cash in on the growing demand of consumers.
Secretary General of Consumers Forum Emdad Hossain Malek said, “In our country, once the price of a commodity rises, it never falls.”
The price of onions has increased by 50% in the last month. It was selling Wednesday at Tk48, which was Tk34 a month ago and Tk 43 a week ago, according to the TCB.
Monthly demand for onion is about 175,000 metric tonnes and this demand stands at 220,000 metric tonnes during Ramadan.
A trader at Kawran Bazar wholesale market, seeking anonymity, said some dealers had stocked edible oil, sugar and other commodities in the area to create an artificial shortage to increase prices.
A retailer, Tipu Bhuiyan, said: “We buy and sell goods throughout the month making a little profit.”
A consumer, Selim Hosain, said: “I have bought some essentials used during iftar before the start of Ramada fearing price hike.”
It is a common phenomenon every year that prices of essentials will soar and the government will fail to control them, he said.
Like every year, all these initiatives have fallen flat, said Sharmin Islam who had come to purchase essentials at a city super shop.
She added that “We have nothing to do except buying those at higher prices as we have to live on it.”
