Drives to begin soon to control Hilsa price

The Consumer Rights Protection Directorate will soon start conducting drives to control the high price of hilsa in markets.

It will also hold meetings with the fish traders in addition to the campaign in the markets to control the price of this delicious fish, said AHM Shafiquzzaman, director general of the Consumer Rights Protection Directorate, at a programme organised by Debate for Democracy in the capital on Thursday.

He said, "The price of hilsa has increased too much. Hilsa is a gift of nature. No one cultivates it, no one has to feed it. In other words, there is no cost of producing hilsa. There is only the cost of catching and transporting hilsa. Farmers have to spend a lot of money to cultivate Rui and Katla fishes. Despite all these facts, the price of hilsa is five-six times higher than that of cultivated Rui and Katla. We will work on it soon."

The director general of the Consumer Rights Protection Rights said they are preparing to start an app-based market monitoring system. Initially, the daily oil and sugar production data of major refineries, how much product is being supplied to a district from the mills, whether the supplied product is reaching that district at all, or has gone somewhere else, will be monitored through the app.

"Whether the amount of oil and sugar required daily across the country is entering the market from the mills or not will be verified through the app," he said.

Shafiquzzaman said the price of coconut has started dropping after the Consumer Rights Protection Directorate's recent drives. Coconut price jumped to Tk200 on the pretext of increased demand amid the dengue outbreak, but now it has come down to Tk120-130. He expects it to come down to Tk100.

Golam Rahman, president of Consumers Association of Bangladesh, said "Rising commodity prices have made life miserable for the lower and middle classes. People's savings have bottomed out or run out. People are running on borrowed money. They are suffering. Traders are no longer satisfied with low profits. Excessive profit, and excessive greed of traders is the reason for the price hikes.

"Businessmen have become monsters like 'Frankenstein'. They have to be stopped with a strong hand. Consumers suffering due to high commodity prices cannot be relieved by market monitoring alone. The government says there is no syndicate, but if a small number of businessmen control the market, is that not a syndicate?"

Golam Rahman also said importing and exporting essentials was the commerce ministry's responsibility, but it is no longer in the hands of that ministry. The fisheries and livestock ministry gives permission for importing chicken and eggs, while the agriculture ministry gives permits for onion import.

Now the authorities should develop a system where anyone is able to import onion without taking permission from any organisation if its price stays above Tk50 for a week, he added.

Chairman of Debate for Democracy Hasan Ahmed Chowdhury Kiran presided over the programme.