A DECLINE in prices on the international market, as 抖阴精品 reported on August 28, has failed to leave hardly any impact on prices on the domestic market, making consumers bear the brunt that they stated facing since the Russia-Ukraine war. Prices went up on the international market as a full-scale war began involving Russia and Ukraine in February 2022, said to be the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II, that pushed up prices of goods such as rice, soya bean oil, sugar and wheat. Bangladesh consequently became heavily affected by the price escalation as it sources the bulk of the essential goods from the international market. Global prices that went up in the initial months of the war started easing from 2023 onward. But experts say that the domestic market has failed to respond to the decline in prices on the international market. The World Bank鈥檚 commodity price data show that rice prices in January 2022 were in the ranges of $419-$427 a tonne, which increased to $644 in December 2023 but are now in the ranges of $376-$392 on the international market. But rice prices registered a sharp increase to Tk 60-85 a kilogram in this August from Tk 50鈥�60 a kilogram in March 2022.
Soya bean oil prices, which were $1,470 a tonne in January 2022, increased to $1,957 in March 2022 but are now in the range of $1,310. The prices on the domestic market, however, increased to Tk 190 a litre this August, up from Tk 173 in December 2023, further up from Tk 170 in March 2022. Wheat sold for $332 a tonne on the international market in January 2022, which increased to $532 in March 2022 and then declined to $210 this July. But coarse flour price which was Tk 45 a kilogram on the domestic market in March 2022 increased to Tk 65 this August, with the flour price having increased to Tk 75 a kilogram this August from Tk 60 in March 2022. The price of sugar was $0.4 a kilogram on the international market in February 2022, increased to $0.42 in March 2022 and declined to $0.37 this July, lower than the pre-war level. But, the price on the domestic market was Tk 80 a kilogram in 2022, increased to Tk 145 in December 2023 and, then, declined to Tk 110 this August. Whilst some experts seek to say the domestic market has failed because of the depreciation of the taka by about 52 per cent against the dollar, some other experts say that weak management, lack of oversight on the supply chain and absence of proactive measures are to blame.
The government should, therefore, look into the issues and take steps so that the domestic market reflects the price decline that has taken place on the international market.
