Effective market monitoring can help ease burden of consumers

The way the price of broiler chicken rose before the start of Ramzan and the way the price fell now, about Tk 100 per kg, at the government’s sitting with big businesses in the poultry sector, clearly tells us that the sudden rise of price of the commodity was due to market manipulation.
The fraud behind the price rise became clear as the government’s people, before sitting with the big businesses, enquired about the production cost of broiler chicken. They found that the production cost of per kg of broiler chicken, according to the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection, was Tk 130-140 but they sold the item to wholesalers or dealers at Tk 220-230 per kg. They again in turn make profit selling them to retailers. When the commodity reached the consumer’s level, it very logically rose to Tk 280 per kg.
As the corporate companies in the poultry sector agreed, in the meeting with government representatives, to reduce the wholesale price of broiler chicken to Tk 190 per kilogram, the price of broiler chicken quickly fell, just within three days to the present Tk 180 to 190 which is still high compared to the commodity’s price a couple of months ago.
As it appeared in the news the government urged the poultry businesses to make less profit which they agreed. It has been also revealed that selling chicken at its present Tk 190 per kg, the producers are not incurring losses but making profits. When this price is compared with the price of chicken a couple of months ago, it is still selling at Tk 40 to 50 per kg more.
This is not for this Ramzan, every year Bangladesh’s consumers see spikes in prices which are in demand during this month of fasting. On the occasion of Shab-e-Barat, the price of beef in the capital reached as high as Tk 800 per kg which is now selling at Tk 750 per kg. It would surely touch Tk 800 as Eid approaches.
As is the case with the broiler chicken price, we are sure, if the government takes action, prices will surely come down to their reasonable level. Now the question is whether the government wants it to do at all since business people have their reach to the corridors of power. As market manipulation is so rampant here, the Bangladesh Competition Commission can play its due role by bringing the dishonest businesses to book.