Home ›› 28 Dec 2021 ›› Front
Shahadat Hossain, in his thirties and working for a private firm in Dhaka, has grown concerned over the relentless price hike of essential goods. The sole breadwinner of a family of four, his income will not be able to cover necessary expenses if the prices keep rising in the coming year.
Sharing his predicament, Shahadat said, “In the pandemic this year, I realised that my monthly income is barely enough to cover my expenses. Prices of essential commodities such as edible oil, rice, onion, farm chicken, vegetable and pulses have shot up, making our lives difficult.
“I earn a monthly salary of Tk 15,000. I am getting stressed while trying to keep the expenses within my budget. If prices continue to rise in the coming year, what will I do?” Shahadat is not alone, as millions like him are now understandably worried about the increasing cost of living.
A study titled “Impact of Covid-19 on the Labour Market: Policy Proposals for Trade Union on Employment, Gender and Social Security for Sustainable Recovery” revealed that the Covid-19 pandemic has created an estimated 16.38 million new poor in Bangladesh.
Jointly conducted by the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS) and the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) in April 2021, the research further pointed out that the crisis has rendered about 3 per cent of the country’s labour force jobless.
This year, the price hike of essential food items and transportation services have hit the country’s lower and middle income segment very hard, especially those with fixed or daily incomes.
Sharfuddin Santu, a rickshaw puller in Tejgaon, said, “The prices of essential commodities are not stable in the market, which is making me and my family very concerned. “Before the crisis, I could afford eggs, chicken and fish one day a week, but now I am having difficulties in affording rice, pulses and vegetables. Now, most of the time, my family eats rice and khichuri with mashed potatoes.”
Electricity, gas prices going up too
There is no respite in sight for many consumers. Amid this precarious situation, the government wants to hike electricity, gas, and fertiliser prices to reduce subsidies and save an estimated Tk 10,000 crore – Tk 12,000 crore in the next fiscal year.
Experts however say such a move will create additional burdens on consumers who are already on the verge of a financial breaking point.
The Consumers Association of Bangladesh’s (CAB) General Secretary Advocate Humayun Kabir Bhuiyan said, “The price of essential items keep going up day after day, and there is no sign of it going down in the upcoming year as well.
“Consumers are having a difficult time with covering their living expenses, and many of them lost their jobs amid the pandemic as well.”
He continued, “The prices of many essentials have increased in the international market, but their rates in the local market are much higher. This is unfortunate. The cost of living in Dhaka has been going up, which is putting pressure on lower and middle income groups.
“The government should increase monitoring activities in the markets to reduce the prices of essentials.”
Spiking prices of essential commodities
On October 19, the Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners’ and Vanaspati Manufacturers’ Association raised the prices of soybean oil by Tk 7 and palm oil by Tk 3 per litre.
Per litre of bottled soybean oil is currently being sold for Tk 160 and loose soybean oil for Tk 136. Per five-litre bottled soybean oil is being sold for Tk 760 and per litre palm oil for Tk 118.
Besides, the coarse variety of rice now sells for Tk 41 – Tk 42 per kg in the wholesale market and Tk 43 in the retail markets of Dhaka. The Miniket variety – which has better quality – is being sold for Tk 63 – Tk 65 per kg, Najirshail for Tk 68 – Tk 70 per kg.
These prices are higher compared to the previous year. Moreover, traders are currently selling farm chickens for Tk 170 – Tk 175 per kg, and sonalika chicken for Tk 280 per kg.
In the first week of December, onion prices in different kitchen markets across Dhaka went up by Tk 15 to Tk 20 per kg within just a week. During that period, traders cited a supply shortage amid off season as the reason for this increase.
Onion traders back then were selling a kilogram of local onions for Tk 70 – Tk 80. On Friday, traders sold a kg of local onion for Tk 60 – Tk 70 per kg, and Indian onions for Tk 40 per kg. The prices of vegetables are high too compared to the previous year.
Palash Mahmud, executive director of Conscious Consumers Society (CCS), said, “In our country, if a product’s price goes up, it never comes down.
This issue is putting a lot of pressure on low income consumers.
“Essential commodities should always be affordable to the consumers. The Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) should boost its activities, and the government should reduce or remove VAT and taxes on essential commodities which are dependent on imports.
On December 5, the state-run TCB began selling essential commodities to low-income people at subsidised prices on its trucks across the country, which will continue till December 28 this year.
Currently, each consumer can buy a maximum of 2kg sugar at Tk 55 per kg, 2kg lentil at Tk 60 per kg, two-litre soybean oil at Tk 110 per litre, and 2-5kg onion at Tk 30 per kg every day from the TCB truck.
