Report - Price Hike of Essential Commodities

Price Hike of Essential Commodities

Hasan Mahmud, Dhaka, 10 January: More than ever the prices of essential commodities are going up by leaps and bounds. All previous records of high prices have already been broken. Rice, fish, meat, chicken, edible oils, and vegetables are being sold at exceedingly high prices. The price hike hits the poor people seriously.

However, the prices of rice and vegetables have gone down recently owing to season's new rice and vegetables. But one liter of soybean oil, sold at Tk.120 one month back, is now being sold at Tk. 130. Similarly the price of kerosene oil now brings sufferings to the villagers. The hoarders are mainly responsible for this unusual price hike. Strict measures should be taken by the government to curb the hoarders' ill motive which creates artificial crisis of essential commodities.

The government has already made open sale arrangement of rice to check the price hike and as such it is now under control. But the prices of sugar, washing soap, onion, garlic, spices, and some other necessary items are still beyond the purchasing capacity of the common people. If this trend of rising prices cannot be controlled, the people of low income group will not be able to buy their daily necessaries and so they will suffer from untold sufferings.

The people expect that the authority concerned would look into the matter and take necessary strict measures so that the prices of essential commodities remain within the reach of their buying capacity.