Agriculture Secretary Md Sayedul Islam has said vegetable prices in the market are high because of middlemen.

"The agriculture ministry is working on vegetable prices. We are also doing a study. What we have found is that the main cause of rising vegetable prices is middlemen. Because of them, a vegetable that costs Tk 10-20 a kg in Palashbari in Gaibandha is bought by us in Dhaka for Tk 60-70," he said.

He was answering a reporter's question at the Secretariat on Sunday (27 February).

Sayedul Islam said there had also been two spells of untimely rain this year, with the rain of 5 December causing major damage. Even where output did not fall short, farmers had to plant a second time, and the higher cost to farmers appears to be another reason for the price rise.

The secretary said the ministry had launched a programme linking district administrations and the Department of Agricultural Marketing, so that it could see where middlemen operate and what steps would keep vegetable prices at a tolerable level.

Asked what is being done to control the current market, he said: "We can see that middlemen are playing a role here. We are working to curb their dominance, and other ministries are working too. We are also watching what the price should be at each stage. Vegetable prices rise at different times for different reasons. This year, production was disrupted in December by Cyclone Jawad. But we will know the specific causes when the study is complete."

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.