Extortion in transports increases food prices
The warehouse owners and wholesale traders alleged that the prices of these commodities go up because of the unwarranted extortion on the roads
The price gap between the growers and consumers of meat, fish, fruits and vegetables can be minimised through modern preservation, transportation and marketing system, warehouse owners and wholesale traders told a programme on Tuesday.
There is a huge obstacle to transporting the perishable goods as 30% of them are lost during the process of delivering the produces from farmers to consumers, they said at the first meeting of the standing committee on kachamal aratdar, marketing and suppliers at the FBCCI auditorium in the city.
The warehouse owners and wholesale traders alleged that the prices of these commodities go up because of the unwarranted extortion on the roads.
"Businesses often complain about the extortion on the roads while transporting goods," Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI) Senior Vice President Mostafa Azad Chowdhury Babu said.
He called for the intervention of the government to stop extortion in transport for the sake of the consumers interest and strengthening the bazar committees to stop unhealthy competition among the warehouse and markets.
He also urged Rajuk and developer companies to construct markets with modern facilities at the new housing projects.
Highlighting the importance of a balance between demand and supply to make the perishable goods market stable, FBCCI Vice President Amin Helali said that the stocktaking of the warehouses, mokam and agriculture bhandar across the country is needed to establish control over the market.
He also emphasised on modern packaging of goods.
Committee Chairman and Warehouse Owner's Association President Emran Master said there are complaints against the warehouse owners. But they are not directly involved in the process of price fixing. Farmers can right away sell their products here, he added.
The businesses demanded the construction of adequate warehouses, including Dhaka and other districts, for the preservation of perishable goods; storages with controlled atmosphere facilities and bank loans on easy terms and conditions.
