Prices of sugar, garlic, gram on rise [ Tritiyo Matra News ]

Prices of sugar, garlic, gram on rise

Local May 21, 2016

The prices of chicken, sugar, garlic and gram increased in the city’s kitchen markets over the week amid repeated assurance from the commerce ministry that the prices of essential commodities would not be increased ahead of Ramadan, the fasting month for Muslims.
Though the government statistics showed that the stock of essentials is higher than the demand, traders have been increasing the prices day by day.
The price of broiler chicken increased by Tk 5 a kg, with the item selling at Tk 170-Tk 175 a kg, while the locally-bred hens were selling at Tk 350-Tk 400 a kg on Friday.
Price of sugar increased by Tk 5 a kg and the item was selling at Tk 60-Tk 62 a kg over the week ending Friday.
On May 17, in a meeting with commerce minister Tofail Ahmed sugar refiners and wholesalers promised that the price of the item would not be increased as sugar stock was higher than its demand.
Wholesalers stated that sugar was being sold at Tk 50.22 a kg on the wholesale market but retailers contradicted the claim of wholesalers showing proper documents.
Following the meeting with commerce minister, the price of sugar increased once again in the wholesale market and retailers have been forced to sell the item at high price, said Mizanur Rahman, a retailer at Karwan Bazar kitchen market.
Price of imported garlic increased by Tk 20 a kg and the item was being sold at Tk 120-Tk 140 a kg while the local variety was selling at Tk 110-Tk 140 a kg on Friday.
At the meeting with commerce minister, the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry director Md Helal Uddin said that there was no reason to increase the price of imported garlic.
Commerce ministry statistics showed that country’s annual demand for garlic is about 5 lakh tonnes and the country produced 4.65 lakh tonnes a year. Some 0.40 lakh tonnes of garlic have been imported in July-April period of current financial year.
According to the official data, price of garlic remained stable and the imported item was retailing at Tk 180- Tk 220 a kg on Tuesday.
A day after the meeting, price of the item increased on the retail market.
The price of gram increased by Tk 10 a kg over the week and the item was selling at Tk 95 to Tk 110 a kg.
According to the official data, country’s annual demand for gram is 0.60 lakh tonnes. Some 2.65 lakh tonnes of gram have been imported in the country from July to April of the current fiscal year.
The price of red lentil remained high. The fine variety of imported red lentil was selling at Tk 150-Tk 165 a kg and the coarse variety at Tk 110 a kg, while local red lentil was retailing at Tk 150-Tk 155 a kg.
Onion prices remained unchanged and the local varieties were being retailed at Tk 45-Tk 48 a kg and imported onions at Tk 20-Tk 35 a kg.
Price of eggs remained unchanged, selling at Tk 32 a hali (four pieces) on Friday.
Beef was selling at Tk 410-Tk 440 a kg and mutton at Tk 600 a kg on the day.
Aubergine was selling at Tk 30-Tk 50 a kg, green chilli at Tk 60 a kg, bitter gourds at Tk 40-Tk 50 a kg, cucumber at Tk 40 a kg, bottle gourd at Tk 40-Tk 50 per piece, okra at Tk 40 a kg, tomato at Tk 40-Tk 50 a kg, and papaya at Tk 30 a kg.
The price of unpacked soya bean oil remained unchanged, with the fine quality of the item selling at Tk 88-Tk 90 a kg on Friday, while palm oil was selling at Tk 65-Tk 67 a kg.
The price of a one-litre container of soya bean oil stood at Tk 96-Tk 98, while that of a 5-litre container remained unchanged at Tk 440-Tk 460 in the city’s retail markets on Friday.
Fish prices remained unchanged. Rohita was selling at Tk 200-Tk 320 a kg, Katla at Tk 200-Tk 300 a kg, Pangas at Tk 120-Tk 280 a kg, and Tilapia at Tk 120-Tk 180 a kg, depending on size and quality.
The coarse variety of miniket rice was retailing at Tk 43-Tk 45 a kg, while the fine variety was selling at Tk 46-Tk 50 a kg in the city markets on Friday.
The fine variety of Najirshail rice had been selling at Tk 52-Tk 54 a kg during the week. The fine variety of BR-28 rice was selling at Tk 42-Tk 44 a kg and the coarse variety at Tk 40 kg on Friday.