Firing a broadside at the ‘interventionist’ role of the city corporations, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has suggested establishing private management for Dhaka’s key wholesale markets as it is imperative to make their operations financially viable.
“The current management of the wholesale market is too interventionist,” the Asian multilateral financier said in a new report launched today (Tuesday). “The operation lacks transparency and the markets are underfunded, especially for repairs and maintenance due to insufficient collection of revenue.”
Not only the quality of services provided by the management to the traders is poor, but also there is “serious lack of coordination” among different actors within the management.
No price information is made available for sellers and buyers and no measures are taken to ensure food safety, according to the report, co-authored by Akmal Siddiq and Abul Basher of the Bank’s rural development and food security thematic group.
The Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department within the ADB produced the policy report titled “Dysfunctional Horticulture Value Chains and the Need for Modern Marketing Infrastructure: The Case of Bangladesh” and has been launched at the “Rural Development and Food Security” Forum, now underway in Manila.
The participation of the private sector in market management “has to be considered to make the operation financially available,” argued the authors.
Rents and charges of new wholesale markets should be competitive to provide commission agents, wholesalers and potential tenants “sufficient incentives” to use the market facilities, thus enabling them to repay the capital cost of building.
In the long term, the authors recommended relocating the existing wholesale markets to the outskirts of Dhaka since their physical limitation cannot be solved due to space constraints at Kawran Bazar, Badamtoli and Swarighat.
Giving the new features of the new wholesale markets, the report insisted those would offer services such as phytosanitary inspections, certifications, traceability, lab examination, electronic auction, banking, catering, accommodation price information, among other facilities.
Also, the new wholesales will improve collection and marketing of products in the production areas.
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