According to Prothom Alo report, after a fire at a sugar mill in Chattogram, the prices of sugar per kg have increased by 2 taka in the wholesale market and 5 taka in the retail market. However, businessmen say that the fire will not have any major impact on the supply. Traders claimed that prices of pulse products have increased in the last few months due to the high dollar cost of imports. However, there has been no new increase in the prices of gram and lentils at the wholesale level. Retailers are increasing prices before Ramadan.
The question is, can businessmen increase the prices of essential commodities like this at any level? This shows that due to loose monitoring of the market, traders can manipulate prices at any level. Does this not highlight the gross failure of government bodies entrusted with monitoring the market?
Animal protein prices increased ahead of the holy month of Ramadan. A month before the national elections, beef prices fell suddenly, but rose again after the elections. It is unusual for prices to rise or fall suddenly like this. As the price of beef increased since January, the prices of all types of fish and broiler chicken also increased. But how can the price of broiler chicken increase by 20 taka per kg a week before the beginning of the month of Ramzan?
