While the price of essential daily items such as fish, meat, and vegetables fluctuate slightly over time, the overall market trend is on an upward trajectory. Onions, vegetables, and fish prices have risen consistently throughout the week, introducing instability to the egg market anew.
Recent discussions have arisen due to the uncommon surge in egg prices. According to the Department of Livestock, the highest permissible retail price for a wholesale egg should be 11 taka and 32 paisa, encompassing various factors like production and transportation costs. However, eggs are currently being sold at 15 taka each, indicating consumers are unjustly bearing an additional charge of 3.68 paisa per egg. This surplus is being exploited by intermediaries and retailers.
The cost of producing an egg on a farm totals 10 and a half taka. Consequently, the retail value of these eggs shouldn’t exceed 12 taka. Yet, eggs are being retailed at 15 taka. With the country’s daily egg demand standing at 4 crores, an additional three taka profit per egg equates to a profit of 12 crores per day and 120 crores over 10 days.
It is imperative for the government to take decisive measures. Those responsible for market oversight should be held accountable. There are reports that a handful of corporations have control over essential commodities like edible oil, sugar, eggs, and broiler chicken. Furthermore, middlemen are manipulating the market by artificially creating scarcity through syndicates. This scheme denies consumers access to fair prices. It’s important to pinpoint and legally address large corporate entities or industrial establishments involved in price manipulation.
To curb the escalating egg prices, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) mobile courts have conducted raids across multiple areas in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. In these raids, several businesspeople were fined by RAB Executive Magistrates.
The escalating costs of daily necessities, including eggs, are putting significant strain on the middle and lower-income segments of the population. The uncontrolled surge in everyday item prices has pushed the crisis to a critical juncture. Furthermore, service costs are escalating haphazardly, contributing to an overall rise in the cost of living for consumers.
The government’s intervention has become imperative to address the abnormal price spikes in daily goods, even when supply appears sufficient to meet demand. If the trend of increasing daily item prices, such as eggs, persists, the hardship faced by the general public will intensify. An immediate and effective resolution is earnestly sought.