Timely decision on imports

In memory of the world-renowned Spanish poet Federico García Lorca, Sunil Gangopadhyay wrote a stirring poem titled ‘Kobir Mrittu’ ("The Death of the Poet."). In one line of that poem, he wrote, "A ginger trader, lighting a ship-branded bidi, said, 'Even green chili peppers don't have that much spice these days!' In Sunil Gangopadhyay's poem, there is a lament about the spiciness of green chili peppers, but currently, the spiciness of green chili peppers is beyond tolerance across the country. According to information published in the media, green chili peppers that used to sell for 100 Taka per kilogram are now being sold for 300 to 400 Taka, depending on the region. This has become a severe additional burden for ordinary people in a high-inflation market.

The reality is that every year during the monsoon season, the production of green chili peppers decreases, naturally causing prices to rise. However, after a while, the prices usually drop significantly. But the question is, should the price of green chili peppers reach 400 Taka just because production is low? It is worth recalling that two years ago, there was a similar panic about the price of salt, just like this year's green chili peppers. Yet, like green chili peppers, salt cannot be consumed in quantities exceeding its predetermined demand.

Green chili peppers have now been newly added to the list of rising essential commodity prices. Usually, syndicate traders in the country’s market increase the prices of essential commodities under various pretexts. These highly profit-driven syndicate traders sometimes raise the prices of rice, sugar, edible oil, and sometimes onions and eggs, siphoning off millions of taka from the market. However, we do not see any significant visible action taken by the relevant government ministry against these syndicate traders. As a result, these syndicate traders have now turned to manipulating the green chili market, which is highly undesirable.

We know that due to high inflation, 42% of the country's population is now living in poverty. Therefore, in the new fiscal year's budget, the government has expressed hope to reduce inflation to 6.4%. However, given the current market situation, it is evident that achieving this inflation target will be very challenging.

In this situation, we believe that to resolve the ongoing instability in the essential commodity market, the relevant ministry must dismantle the illegal syndicates of traders. To achieve this, the number of mobile courts could be increased, and irregularities and profiteering must be stopped. Ultimately, we hope that the government will take effective measures to ensure fairness in the prices of essential commodities.