Low-middle class struggling to survive

Swarnomoyee Mostafa Oishy

With the rising of fuel price, a race of price hike of essential commodities including rice, fishes and eggs has been created in the market putting the low and middle class people at misery.

The anarchy of the essential market has taken a furious turn on the pretext of fuel price hike. Meanwhile, the price of eggs both of the hen and duck has breached the record of history, while the prices of various varieties rice have gone out of touch of the low and middle class people.

In this circumstance, people of the country especially who live on hand to mouth or by small earning or daily wage based jobs have fallen difficulty to carry their livelihoods along with their family members. Many people, who live in capital with poor income, are being forced to leave the city after being failure to meet the living costs, they claimed.

Sources said, the price of rice is increasing at an unusual rate. In less than a week, the price of all types of rice has increased up to Tk 10 per kg.

Traders claimed that, the price has increased due to the increase of truck rent caused by fuel price hike. However, the truck rental calculation says that, the transport cost for per sack of rice has increased by only Tk 5, but traders have increased the price of rice by Tk 500 per sack. Finally, the burden of that additional price has fallen on the shoulders of buyers. At the end of the day, the pockets of the buyers are being cut.

Hossain Ali, a truck driver brought 20 tons of rice from Jamalpur to the capital’s Karwan Baza’ar market yesterday. Despite 42.5 percent rising of diesel price, he brought 20 tons (20,000 kg) of rice to Dhaka from a distance of 160 km and charged additional Tk 2,000 as truck rent. As per the calculation, the additional transportation cost for one kg of rice has increased by 10 Paisa.

Abdul Baten, a truck driver, who brought 13 tons of rice to the capital from Khajanagar in Kushtia, also 185 km distance from Dhaka, realized additional 7 Paisa against per kg as his rent. He received additional rent of Tk 1000 as transportation cost of 13,000 kg of rice.

Although, the maximum cost against per kg of rice has reached to 10 Paisa in Dhaka, the market price has increased by Tk 8 to Tk 10 per kg. On the plea of truck fair hike, the traders have increased Tk 500 per bag of 50 kg, while the actual fuel cost has increased by Tk 5. If the truck workers can collect a fare equivalent to the 42.5 percent increase in diesel price, then the maximum cost of bringing a kg of rice to Dhaka will be 27 Paisa.

That is 17 Paisa more than the current increased cost. But, the unscrupulous traders have got a chance to cut the pockets of customers more and more.

Due to the increase in the price of fuel oil, the price of coarse and fine rice is increasing every day. The price of rice has increased by Tk 4 to Tk 6 per kg in the wholesale market and Tk 8 to Tk 10 per kg in the retail market.

The price of eggs, fishes, chicken and beef have gone up just after announce of fuel price hike. Some of the places in the city, the house owners are going to increase the rent for the upcoming days centering the same reason. In this situation, carrying livelihoods by the low and middle income group of people has become complicated as their income has not increased as per the costs. They can’t adjust their living costs even after deducting of expenditure budget, many claimed.