There are at least three laws and as many government bodies to protect the consumers from price manipulation, but it goes on unabated due to lax enforcement of the laws and a lack of coordination among the government organisations, say commodity experts.
According to them, unscrupulous businesspeople have been making extra profits over the years at the expense of consumers. This becomes more evident ahead of and during Ramadan and Eid, and after any minor disruption to the supply chain.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star’s Google News channel.The Control of Essential Commodities Act-1956, Consumers’ Right Protection Act-2009, and Agricultural Marketing Act-2018 are there to check abnormal price hikes and punish the violators.
The Directorate General of Food, the Directorate of National Consumers Right Protection and the Department of Agriculture Marketing (DAM) are responsible for enforcing those laws.
But fair price remains a distant reality in the country, said Mosammat Nazmanara Khanum, former secretary of the food ministry.
“It’s like a cat and mouse game. When the prices of essentials shoot up on different occasions, drives are carried out. Those only bring some temporary relief, but the problem persists,” she said.
Consumers have been struggling to cope with the price volatility for about two years. The situation worsened in the last six months after the overall inflation rate hit 9.5 percent in August last year, the highest in 12 years.বিস্তারিত