Price hike

                                                          Price hike

Price hike is a great problem of the day. It is a common phenomenon not only in our country but also in the world. Today the prices of necessary things such as food items, cloths, education materials, medicine and many other necessary things are going up by leaps and bounds. Price hike is caused by several factors like hoarding, population explosion, low productivity, natural calamities, wars, backwardness of communication, evil motives of dishonest businessmen, smuggling, black marketing etc. If the price hike is caused by the short supply of commodities, it is temporary. But it is very difficult to control the price hike  caused by inflation. However, the people of low income suffer greatly and pass their days in constant anxiety. They find it, difficult to make their both ends meet. price hike is a function of multifarious factors such as energy costs, declining dollar value, rising demand for bio-fuel, export restrictions on food grains, carrying cost, climate change, etc. Concerns over oil prices, energy security and climate change have prompted governments to encourage production and use of bio-fuel. The price hike  has widened the gap between the export and import value in the food grain importing countries which has affected the terms of trade and foreign exchange reserve. The fiscal impact of this price hike leads to the reduction of taxes on food grain import and a rise in subsidies in the production of the same  Price hike  has terrible effects on man’s character. It leads people to the path of corruption and moral degradation. The situation is complex and there is no single solution to this problem. The government should perform more efficiently and has to take actions so that the market performs properly. Bangladesh imports a lion’s share of its import of rice from India at low cost. In Bangladesh, the main sources of calorie are rice and wheat. In spite of a rise in wheat and rice price, people still consume rice and wheat. Therefore, the food price hike  affects the poor extensively.Food crisis is a national as well as an international problem. To reduce the extent of the effect of the crisis, some short term and long term measures can be taken. The government should begin selling rice from its stock and import food grains right at this moment to keep the local market stable. The dependency on private food importers should be lessened to avoid the artificial volatility of the local markets. Increasing the adoption of hybrid rice, improving crop management practices and access to high quality seed are essential. Deepening fertilizer dealer network to improve timely access to fertilizer and focusing on high quality seed availability are also needed.. Laws should be enforced strictly to bring the prices of the essential commodities within the purchasing capacity of the common people.