Op-ed in newagebd: Produce regulation for fair vegetable prices
— New Age link
https://www.newagebd.net/print/article/125388
VEGETABLE prices have started declining since November 2019 and it may have caused economic repercussions for farmers. During the general holiday ordered as a preventive measure against COVID-19 infection in March–June, farmers could not sell them produces at fair prices and, consequently, many farmers even lost their investments. The current declining trend in vegetable prices at the farmer’s end may cause farmers to suffer more.
Vegetable prices had gone up from August until the
middle of November. But prices of some vegetables such as radish, aubergine, and
bottle gourds have gone down at an alarming level. Although some others are
still sold for reasonable prices, they may also face a price decline as the
supply is going up. Such a situation is a matter of great concern for growers.
Farmers have suffered a drastic loss in vegetable
production since March this year after the imposition of the general holiday.
The media reported a drastic decline in prices during that period — with a
kilogram of aubergine having sold for Tk 4 at Mithapukur in Rangpur. Similarly,
pumpkin, pointed gourds, bitter gourds, and snake gourds sold for Tk 12 a
kilogram at Ghior in Manikganj.
Such a sales value covered only one-fourth to half
of the total production cost. However, that was obviously an exceptional
situation when transports were not available during the general holiday and
farmers could not carry their produces to the city markets. Furthermore, poor and
low- and fixed-income people nearly stopped eating vegetables fearing that they
might carry the coronavirus and expose people to risks of COVID-19 infection.
Consequently, farmers threw away their produce or fed them to cattle. That was
actually a deplorable condition for farmers.
In contrast, in September and October, prices of some
vegetables went so high that they remained beyond the reach of ordinary people.
In that period, we had to buy aubergine, cucumber, cucurbits, and many items at
Dhaka markets for more than Tk 80 a kilogram. Basically, vegetable prices are
mainly influenced by the amount of supply and demand on the market. The two
factors should be harmonized to keep the prices stable.
The supply of any vegetable crops on the market
becomes scanty at its early harvest. In the peak harvest period, its supply
becomes plenty and even may be in surplus compared with the demand, causing a
price decline.
But for this year, prices of early harvest of potatoes
sold for more than Tk 100 a kilogram against Tk 30 in prices for the old
harvest. There are also some items that may run in short supply at the late
harvest, such as tomatoes, causing high prices. Although some items such as
aubergine, which can be grown around the year, have varying prices depending on
the load of availability on the market, Edible herbs such as red spinach, green
spinach, and even spinach and vegetables such as okra fall in this class. In
contrast, there are some vegetables such as cauliflower and broccoli that have
a shorter production period as their flowering depends on the day’s length.
Unlike storable agricultural products such as
rice and pulses, vegetables cannot be hoarded by traders even not for half a
week as these are perishable. So, for any abnormal increase or decline in
vegetable prices, traders may not be blamed. Vegetable prices can be controlled
only with precise planning and management in the production, supply, and
market chain.
The production volume and harvesting period of
different vegetable crops needs to be manipulated to avoid surplus supply on the
market to stem price decline. The distribution of land in proportion to the
market demand of the individual crop is the best mechanism to control market
prices.
Because of an improved transport network, the
production amount in localities affects market prices to a great extent. The
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics says that Bangladesh produced 13 million tonnes
of vegetables in the 2018 financial year.
In the meantime, Bangladesh is well poised to supply
its people with plenty of vegetables. Having been self-sufficient, Bangladesh
holds the world’s first position in terms of total vegetable production and the
third position in terms of growth rate.
Despite that, the supply of vegetables around the year
is not uniform, which creates a deficit beginning in July when rain becomes
abundant to cause saturation or submergence of the soil that most vegetables
cannot tolerate. Such a shortfall continues up to October when the early
harvest starts. After that, most vegetables appear on the market, beginning in
December, making an oversupply at peak harvests. In general, the supply starts
ceasing again in March, with the heavy rain beginning in July–August period.
Further, winter vegetables do not thrive when the atmospheric temperature
starts rising. Summer vegetables are often constrained by water stagnation.
Because of under- and over-supply, vegetable market
prices become unstable, causing sufferings to both the consumers and the
farmers. Farmers want profits whereas consumers like to buy commodities for low
prices. This is, actually, a conflict of interest between consumers and
growers.
In recent years, laborers from the agricultural
sector have migrated to the industrial and developmental sectors. This has
raised the cost of agricultural production because of the labor force that ultimately
widens the per unit production cost. In addition to this, an increased
production cost and overflow-driven price decline add to the burden on
farmers.
Most fresh vegetables are perishable and
cannot be stored for a long time. This is the main reason for the decline in
prices when supplied in excess into the market chain although very few of the
vegetables such as pumpkin, arum, and potato can be stored for a longer period.
So, to get a stable market, the supply of perishable products must be
manipulated keeping to the demand on the market. For this, both the area of
land and planting time need to be well planned. But except for very few,
most vegetables have a wider planting period that creates a scope for growing
them considering the market demand.
In general, farmers have a tendency of choosing the
type of vegetables to grow which had higher prices the season before. When many
of them do so at closer times, the total harvest causes a surplus supply on the
market. Field-level agriculturists can play a great role in this respect,
advising farmers on how much area of land should be used to grow each type of
vegetable and when to plant the seeds or grow them.
Field-level agriculturists should assess the need of
individual vegetable crops for individual months, especially on a regional basis
with cities nearby, to prevent any excess supply of vegetables on the market.
Farmers should accordingly assign land for production. Such a system may be
taken under a framework to help optimize the supply load and keep prices
stable. This will help both farmers and consumers and attend to their concerns.
Dr. Md Jafar Ullah is a professor of agronomy at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University.
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