Relentless rainfall and flash floods sweeping across the country have disrupted the flow of essential food items to Dhaka, driving up the prices of fish, vegetables, eggs and poultry in the capital's kitchen markets and leaving low- and middle-income consumers struggling to cope with rising living costs.
After visiting to Narinda, Ray Shaheb Bazar and several other kitchen markets in the capital on Friday, it was found that the prices of most vegetables have risen by Tk20 to Tk40 per kilogram over the past week. Green chilli is now selling at Tk200 per kg, while farmed fish, broiler chicken and eggs have also become more expensive.
Traders said continuous rainfall and flooding have damaged fish ponds, enclosures and farms in several districts, reducing supplies to wholesale markets. As a result, the prices of nearly all varieties of fish have increased by Tk20 to Tk100 per kg within a few days.
Fish prices surge as floods hit farms
Medium-sized farmed rui and katla are now being sold at Tk400-450 per kg, up from Tk350-380 a few days ago. Telapia is priced at Tk240-260 per kg, pangas Tk220-250, pabda Tk400-450 and farmed shrimp Tk900-1,200 per kg.
The supply of hilsa has also declined, pushing the price of a one-kilogram fish to between Tk1,600 and Tk2,400.
"Fish supplies have fallen because ponds and farms in many parts of the country were damaged by the floods," said Altaf Hossain, a fish trader at Narinda market.
"We are paying higher prices in the wholesale market, making it impossible to sell at previous rates. Prices may ease once supplies recover," he added.
Vegetable prices climb on lower supply
Heavy rainfall and flooding have submerged vegetable fields in many areas, reducing production, while transport disruptions have further constrained supplies to the capital, traders said.
Brinjal is now selling for Tk90-120 per kg, bitter gourd Tk80-100, yardlong beans Tk100, ridge gourd Tk80-90, snake gourd Tk70-80, cucumber Tk120-160 and bottle gourd Tk80-100 each.
Green chilli has registered one of the sharpest increases, with ordinary varieties selling for Tk160-180 per kg and premium-quality chilli reaching Tk200.
Papaya, pointed gourd and okra, however, remain relatively affordable at Tk20-40, Tk40-60 and Tk40-60 per kg, respectively. Tomato prices have eased slightly to Tk150-180 per kg following higher imports.
"Many vegetable fields remain underwater, while transport disruptions have significantly reduced market arrivals," said a vegetable trader at Ray Shaheb Bazar.
"Only about half the usual volume of vegetables is reaching the market. As wholesale prices have risen sharply, retailers have also had to increase prices. Unless the situation improves, prices are unlikely to fall over the next few days," he said.
Egg and poultry prices also rise
Egg prices have also increased over the past week.
Brown eggs, which sold for Tk120-130 per dozen a week ago, are now priced at Tk140. White eggs are selling for Tk120-130 per dozen, while duck eggs have risen to Tk190-200 from Tk170-180.
Traders said higher vegetable prices have prompted many consumers to switch to eggs, boosting demand. At the same time, reduced supply has further fuelled the price increase.
They attributed the rise in duck egg prices to lower production caused by heavy rain and flooding, transport disruptions and higher transportation costs.
Meanwhile, broiler chicken is being sold at Tk180-200 per kg, up from Tk170-180, while Sonali chicken is priced at Tk340-360 per kg.
Consumers allege profiteering
Consumers said that while some price increases are inevitable due to the floods, certain traders are taking advantage of the situation by charging excessively high prices.
"Every day we come to the market only to face another price hike," said Nasir Uddin, a shopper at Ray Shaheb Bazar.
"Our incomes remain unchanged, but household expenses continue to rise. Buying essential items now exceeds our budget."
Old Dhaka resident Tushar Rahman said the scale of the price increases appeared disproportionate to the actual supply situation.
"Some increase is understandable when supplies are disrupted by continuous rain. But the current prices, especially Tk200 per kg for green chilli, are unreasonable. It seems that some unscrupulous traders are exploiting the natural disaster to make excessive profits," he said.
Traders said it could take another 10 to 15 days for fish and vegetable supplies to return to normal, suggesting that elevated prices are likely to persist in the short term.