No government in the past 55 years has taken planned steps to keep the supply and prices of vegetables and other goods steady through the year, commerce minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir said. He was answering reporters' questions at the Secretariat on Wednesday, 28 October, before a meeting on pulse supplies.
Having goods in the market and having affordable prices are two different things, the minister said: one is supply stability, the other price stability. Bangladesh produces several hundred thousand tonnes more onion than it needs, he said, yet prices rise out of season; vegetables show the same seasonal swings.
Using winter vegetables as an example, he said a vegetable that sold for Tk 120 twenty days ago is now getting cheaper as the winter crop reaches the market, and prices will rise again when supply falls at the end of the season.
His remedy is more use of cold storage and arranging production of a crop in the months when output is low. Improving the supply system over the long term, he said, would reduce the big price swings that come with the change of seasons.
Asked about imports for Ramadan, he said when and at what price traders book goods is their business strategy and the government cannot compel them; shipping costs cannot be fixed fully in advance either. Despite pressure from the exchange rate, uncertain world markets and higher fuel prices, efforts are under way to keep markets stable, he said.
For vegetable growers the minister's admission is plain: prices crash at the peak of the season and soar out of it because storage and off-season production are lacking. Government action on cold storage and off-season farming could help both farmers and consumers. The report was filed by a Banglanews24 senior correspondent.
Photo: Wholesale vegetable market at Karwan Bazar, Press Information Department / Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
Source: Banglanews24
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