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COMMON people across the country have been experiencing exorbitant prices of essentials for the past couple of months. Prices of all varieties of rice went up recently while prices of vegetables and grocery items have been galloping. Fish prices have also gone up and very few people can afford it. Coarse rice has been selling at Tk 50 to Tk 60 per kg and price of green chilly soared to abnormal heights and is currently selling at Tk 250 per kg. The current price hike is partly attributable to recent successive floods in the country. But a group of syndicated traders were the main culprits as they took advantage of the situation and created artificial crisis of essentials.
The ongoing prices of essentials will further deteriorate if the government does not intervene immediately to arrest the rising price trend. The government should enhance supply of goods to the market to meet short-term demand and come down hard on the traders responsible for creating the artificial crisis in the market. As part of a long-term solution the government may think of providing financial help for farmers as and when they are affected by natural calamities.
Mohammad Zonaed Emran
MNC Banking Unit
Mutual Trust Bank Limited
Corporate Head Office, Dhaka.