It was once argued that the smaller groups were by and large easy to organize and seriously effective in lobbying compared to the larger groups.
Well, Bangladesh has plenty of them already, which are vocal in their demands and generally have their way. There are associations of garment and knitwear manufacturers, shrimp exporters, tea, leather, footwear and so on. Local producers have their own association in each and every sector. Then there is workers association of the different streams.
But the irony is that the largest group in the country of consumers is the least organized among all the groups. 145 million consumers of Bangladesh, whether urban or rural, are not able to come under one roof even though they are having demands large in numbers.
In the market dominated economy, consumer is more or less the king either by law or by practice. It is he who decides the price, taste, quality and quantity in the market.
But in Bangladesh, consumer hardly has a voice. However, it is satisfying to see that Consumer Association of Bangladesh (CAB) has come into existence.
Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry organized a round table conference to deliberate various aspects of consumer rights. CAB must get its act together and raise its voice against monopolistic tendencies of domestic producers.
marketing@alchempro.com
