Extortion drives vegetable prices up: Farmers and consumers under pressure

WHEN the prices of vegetables in capital Dhaka’s markets are three to four times higher, farmers are not getting a fair price.

This abnormal increase in vegetable prices is happening as the produce reaches the retail market from the field due to the interference of the middlemen and extortion on the road.

According to media reports, on average, a truck coming from Mahasthan Bazar in Bogura district to Dhaka has to pay a toll of up to Tk 3,000.

This money is being collected by the highway police, political parties, and trade unions.

The three-fourths of the price at which farmers sell vegetables are being passed on to consumers.

For example, beans are being bought from farmers in Bogura for Tk 30, but are being sold retail in Dhaka for around Tk 200.

In this way, farmers are being deprived of fair prices, and consumers are buying at an excessive price. Only middlemen and unscrupulous groups involved in extortion benefit from this.

Another major cause of the problem is the weakness of market supervision.

The market prices announced by the National Consumer Rights Protection Department or the Ministry of Commerce have no relation to reality.

Due to the lack of effective monitoring, the difference between wholesale and retail prices increases abnormally.

The National Consumer Rights Protection Department’s ‘Market Price’ app also does not match the actual retail market price, which is undermining consumer rights.

Sadly, extortion temporarily subsided after the August 5 student uprising, but has now resumed in full swing.

Executive Director of the Voluntary Consumers Training and Awareness Society (Consumers) Khalilur Rahman Sajal has said the difference in prices between the wholesale and retail markets has become clear due to the government’s less attention to market supervision.

Several urgent steps are needed to resolve this crisis. First, law enforcement agencies must be held strictly accountable for preventing extortion in the road transport.

Secondly, a transparent monitoring system must be introduced in the wholesale and retail markets to detect unreasonable price differences.

Thirdly, to ensure fair prices for farmers, it is necessary to establish ‘farmers’ markets’ where they can sell directly to consumers.

This will eliminate middlemen and the consumers will also get products at reasonable prices.

Most importantly, this problem cannot be solved without the government’s goodwill and effective action.

To protect both the farmers and the consumers, the vicious cycle of extortion and mismanagement must be broken.

Otherwise, the vegetable market will remain out of reach of the consumers, and the farmers will also be deprived of fair prices.