Editorial
Rising prices, approaching Ramadan
Creating food security must be a priority
There is an anxiety among the general public about a further rise in the prices of essential items during Ramadan. Every new season of significance, be it Ramadan or Eid, has seen prices inflate to levels that leave the poor absolutely helpless and the middle classes struggling, often in vain, to maintain a decent living. If some recent statistics from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics are any guide, the inflation rate on food items for the month of July this year registered a worrying 13 percent. It thus becomes easy to see which way things will likely go in the coming days, unless of course, import is timely, transportation of commodities, now impaired by floods is steadied with special efforts and supply and distribution mechanisms are rendered efficient.
The current global food situation is especially harsh for countries like Bangladesh in the sense that traditional sources of food supply have been shrinking. Countries like India and Vietnam, to name a few, are today finding it difficult to deal with requests for food items that other countries might want to purchase. Thus Bangladesh is virtually left to buy food at high prices. Be that as it may, we have to build a buffer stock of food for the rainy days. That calls for a coordinated, purposeful campaign aimed at ensuring food security for all. On a wider level, food security as an issue may be given added impetus within the South Asian context.
In the past couple of months, Bangladesh's food situation has been made worse through two flood surges in a row. What with farmers losing crops to the rushing waters, the floods have put a big question mark on overall supply situation. The bottom line is therefore obvious: the food stocks that we build up require a distribution network that must be as swiftly operating as it must be efficient. The Vulnerable Group Feeding Program (VGF) should be extensively implemented for the sake of the poorest of poor. Open Market Sales are a good instance of how food supply can be steadied and prices kept within tolerable limits. But what fundamentally needs to be put in place is a durable marketing structure. That can be done through revitalising conventional market mechanisms.
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