Government misguided about 'hoarders'
I find it tragic that your editorial 'Concerns about the price situation' on February 11, 2011(http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/more.php?news_id=125738&date=2011-02-11) suggests, as the government does, a crackdown on hoarders of rice who are unfairly, unjustly, and foolishly seen as the prime cause for hiked retail rice prices.
The Old Testament reveals how Joseph hoarded grains for seven years and saved the people as the Bible says, " all nations came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain because everywhere the famine was severe:" Genesis 41:57 The Old Testament. People would have perished in large numbers if Joseph had not stored or had the pharaoh sealed his warehouse.
In the short run, hoarding may increase prices but this critical economic function of hoarding helps to store available rice that is at present in shortfall worldwide. Only if it is stored, people can consume it when supply would be even dearer. High prices should also attract others to consider producing rice in their lands of whatever size or wherever available - in rural or urban areas.
Bangabandhu did it right when he asked people, not the government, to cultivate rice in whatever available land the people had, and the result was higher production. Supply response would come when prices rise but only if there are no barriers to supply and definitely no brutal treatment or threats by the government.
Government as always is inefficient, wasteful, and corrupt when they become entrepreneurs. They are not good producers or managers. It becomes a monster when it gets involved to correct market prices by physical monitoring and by violently cracking down on hoarders. These are all grossly erroneous exercise, which distorts, disrupts, and criminalizes the rice market further. Rice traders and importers would rather stop their business that would increase prices further. Anti-hoarding drive is a recipe for civil chaos as in North Africa.
Prices have increased just not for shortfall in global production but because currencies have lost there value too. With large inflow of foreign remittance for the past 10 years or less, the Taka has considerably lost its value and that is reflected in high prices of rice, land, and stock. The financial journals or the mainstream economists do not mention this point because they do not utter what the IMF does not. Food insecurity is an artificial hype cleverly created to shift global focus from a falling Dollar and the failing FED for their existence and continued domination of world economy.
Food security and ensuring constant flow of food is the first few things humans mastered thousands of years ago and if this role of providing our own food is not taken over by politicians, UN, and governments, food would always be plenty and affordable.
The government has made a mess out of the Stock market by their daily intervention and the promise of better policies. They will make a similar mess of the food market by their intervention that is a consequence of wrong economic understanding. The sure path is 'laissez faire' with government guaranteeing the security, not of food but of warehouses where food is stored and of traders dealing in food.
Nizam Ahmad
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