Soaring vegetable prices continue to haunt city dwellers [ Tritiyo Matra News ]

Soaring vegetable prices continue to haunt city dwellers

Local September 12, 2015

The low- and middle-income people in the capital Dhaka have not got any respite from soaring prices of vegetables over the week ending Friday.
The prices of vegetables have remained high in the city’s kitchen markets for last couple of weeks.
According to the traders, people will have to wait until harvest of winter vegetables to get the items at reduced rates as rains damaged a vast tract of farmland across the country.
Md Emran Master, president of Bangladesh Kanchamall Arot Malik Samity, told New Age that the supply of vegetables almost halved over last couple of weeks due to downpour followed by floods across the country.
He said most of the seasonal vegetables including green chilli perished in the farmland as a vast tract of farmland went under water over last few weeks.
Consumers, however, expressed their dissatisfaction over the skyrocketing prices of vegetables and alleged that in the name of downpour some traders were gaining extra profit due to lack of the government monitoring over the market.
Aubergine was selling at Tk 60-Tk 80 a kg, bitter gourd at Tk 70 a kg, okra at Tk 70 a kg, ribbed gourd at Tk 60 a kg, string bean at Tk 70 a kg, cucumber at Tk 60 a kg, tomato at Tk 85 a kg, papaya at Tk 40 a kg, green chilli at Tk 200-Tk 220 a kg and potato was selling at Tk 25 a kg on Friday.
The prices of onion remained high and local item was selling at Tk 75-Tk 80 a kg while the imported onion was selling at Tk 65-Tk 70 a kg in the city’s kitchen markets on Friday.
Mohmmad Saidur Rahman, a security guard working with a privet company at Mohammadpur, while talking to New Age, said, ‘The prices of vegetables increase in every rainy season but this year the prices seem to touch all-time high.’
‘As a low-income people it is completely impossible for me to afford the prices as there are vegetables priced less than Tk 60 a kg are hardly found,’ he said.
The price of red lentil remained high and the fine variety of red lentil was selling at Tk 125-Tk 130 a kg while the imported item (coarse variety) was selling at Tk 105 a kg over the week.
The price of broiler remained unchanged and the item was selling at Tk 150-Tk 155 a kg while the locally-bred hens were selling at Tk 300-Tk 450 a kg on the day.
Imported garlic was selling at Tk 110-Tk 120 a kg while the local variety was selling at Tk 80 a kg on the day.
The price of egg also remained high and the item was selling at Tk 38 a hali (four pieces) in the city on Friday.
Beef was selling at Tk 380 a kg and mutton at Tk 550 a kg on Friday.
The prices of unpacked soya bean oil and palm oil remained unchanged and the items were selling at Tk 85-Tk 88 a litre and Tk 74-Tk 76 a litre respectively on the day.
The price of bottled soya bean oil remained unchanged. A one-litre container of soya bean oil was selling at Tk 100 while a five-litre container was selling at Tk 470-Tk 490 on Friday.
The prices of fish remained unchanged.
Rohita was selling at Tk 200-Tk 300 a kg, katla at Tk 200-Tk 280 a kg, pangas at Tk 120-Tk 170 a kg and tilapia at Tk 110-Tk 180 a kg, depending on their size and quality.
Rice prices remained unchanged over the week. The fine variety of BR-28 rice was selling at Tk 42-Tk 45 a kg and the coarse variety was selling at Tk 40-Tk 42 a kg on Friday. The fine variety of miniket rice was selling at Tk 48-Tk 50 a kg while the coarse variety was retailing at Tk 45-Tk 46 a kg. The coarse variety of rice was retailing at Tk 30-Tk 32 a kg over the week.