Liquid milk prices have increased by Tk2-3 per litre just days before Eid-ul-Azha.
The state-run Milk Vita brand was retailed at TK65 per liter Tk62 two days ago while Aarong, Aftab and Pran milks were found selling at Tk63-65.
Supply disruption has been blamed for the surge in liquid milk prices.
During visits to different city areas including Arambagh, Purana Paltan, Naya Paltan, Kamalapur, Shahjanpur and Tikatuli, the retailers were found selling the milk at the increased prices.
They said the distributors of Aarong, Aftab, Amo, Bikrampur, Pran and Rangpur dairy milk increased the price by Tk2 per litre.
The retailers also said they were also facing supply crunch ahead of Eid-ul-Azha. Many customers said they didn’t get milk in the shops and others said they bought the milk at the increased prices. The customers alleged that a group of traders were creating artificial supply shortage to make extra profit.
“I went to buy some milk before Eid-ul-Azha to prepare foods on the occasion. But the milk was not available,” Rahima Akter, an insurance company official in Tikatuli area, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.
Milk Vita supplies 3 lakh litres of liquid milk everyday across the country. The state-owned company has 70% share in the country’s market of liquid milk, said a company official.
The other leading private milk-producing companies -- Aarong, Aftab, Akiz, Amo, Bikrampur, Pran and Rangpur Dairy -- meet the remaining 30% demand together, he said.
According to the Agriculture and Food Security Programme of Brac, Bangladesh has a demand of approximately 1.28 crore tonnes milk.