Middlemen in vegetable supply chain inflate prices: Govt report
Consumers are paying exorbitant prices for vegetables due to the presence of 5-6 middlemen between the producer and the retailer, according to a recent report of the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP).
A directorate team observed nighttime activities at Karwan Bazar on Monday and discovered a group of middlemen lacking business licences or designated market spaces. Despite this, they participate in vegetable transactions, leading to price hikes.
They sell vegetables like brinjal, cucumber, and lemon to wholesalers at night, often on roadsides near the market. These transactions lack sales receipts and documented purchase prices.
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Additionally, established market participants fail to display price lists.
The report said that a brinjal seller bought 28 maunds of brinjal from Narayanganj for Tk60 per kg and sold it for Tk80 per kg. However, the seller did not have any kind of trade license, let alone a receipt for buying and selling the product.
However, another seller, just 15-20 yards away from this sales point, sold brinjal for Tk45-50 per kg, which he bought from a market for Tk35-38 per kg. He also did not have any kind of business papers either.
Meanwhile, another trader sold lemons to wholesalers for Tk60, but he did not have any proof of the buying price. The same kind of mismanagement was found in the case of cucumber.
The DNCRP said that there are several traders in the Karwan Bazar supply chain, who did not have any trade identity.
To address this issue, the DNCRP Director General AHM Shafiquzzaman issued a show-cause notice to the Karwan Bazar Kachamaal Arat Byabshayee Malik Samity, demanding an explanation within a day to ensure reasonable and affordable vegetable prices.
This action follows the commerce ministry's directive to tackle market mismanagement, issued during a meeting with traders on Sunday.
Price surges for vegetables like lemon, cucumber, and brinjal before Ramadan have become a recurring issue.
