The New Nation - Internet Edition

A.T.M.Nurun Nabi

The poor are not concerned with the Bangladesh Bank governor's call to attain 6.5 percent GDP nor do they think of the country's export, import, inward remittance, foreign currency reserve and GNI position; but they are very much concerned with the report that the government has increased the fertiliser price by over 50 percent to almost 100.

It gathers from the reports that the government has reportedly enhanced the price of one sack (50 kilos) of TSP to taka 1382 from 697, that of MOP to taka 1121 from 710 and of DAP to taka 1870 from 970, meaning that the benefit of the fertiliser subsidy (taka 1500 crore) for the farmers will automatically shrink. If the report is authenticating, it will hit the food production in the long run, says a college teacher.

The country produced over three crore metric tonne of food grains including 2.83 metric tonne of rice during the fiscal 2006-07 against the annual demand of 2.81 crore metric tonne, transpiring the fact there was no food shortage in the country during the period. Regarding the stock of food grains in the hands of the government, available reports appear ambiguous.

One of the tragedies of the country's economy is that the correct statistics is really hard to get. Different agencies and departments of the government publish such reports as do not coincide with one another.

The best way to remove obscurity about the food output, annual demand, shortage if any, quantity of imported food grains and the quantity of food in the government's stock is that it will publish a full fledged report as quick as possible to block trading with imaginary food shortage.

Meantime, the price of the miniket variety of rice has increased by taka one kilo over the past week. It now ranges from taka 34 to 36. The poor is not concerned with the rise of the miniket rice, but they become worried when they struggle to buy their rice-the paijam. The production cost of one kilogram of kilo paijam is taka 14, which is sold in the capital city at taka 25 to 27, an increase of taka 11 to 13 only.

But the producers get a part (one-fifth) of the benefits, the greater portion going to intermediaries, mill owners, wholesalers and retailers. Now with the increasing of the fertiliser price, the cost of production will surely amplify leading to the turmoil in the rice market, meaning that the real wage will further decrease and the cost of living will proportionately increase.

And the greatest disappointmentof the marginal farmers and the sharecroppers is that they sell a remarkable part of the production to repay the loan taken from the moneylenders. And if the production is below the level, they sell their advance production and return home in despair, depressed. The condition of fishermen is no better.