With the increase in green chillies prices, red chillies too have started to get expensive in markets.
However, the price of red chillies has not fluctuated as much, but it has increased by Tk20-Tk50 per kg in the last month.
According to market insiders, the retail price of green chillies is still high, ranging between Tk300 and Tk400 per kilogram. As a result, retail consumers have lowered their intake of green chillies and are increasingly leaning toward red chillies.
According to retail and wholesale traders, the price of green chillies on the market normally remains high throughout the monsoon season due to a lack of supply.
As a result, demand for red chillies rose throughout this period, and prices increased excessively.
However, traders stated that there is no shortage in the wholesale market and that there is no risk of serious market volatility.
Imported red chillies sell for Tk480-Tk530 per kg in the capital's numerous kitchen markets, while the local variant sells for Tk400-Tk440 per kg, however, as per the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) market price list, the price of the imported variant is noted as Tk420-Tk450 per kg while the local variant as Tk400-Tk420 per kg.
On July 16 of the last year the price of the local variant of red chillies was Tk260-Tk300 in the kitchen markets whereas the price of imported red chillies was Tk350-Tk400, TCB data showed, noting that the price of the local variant and imported variant hiked by 46% and 16%, respectively than the last year.
Traders said that the volatility in the market of green chillies started last month, just before Eid-ul- Adha.
Since then, the price of local red chillies has soared by Tk20 per kg in the kitchen markets while the price of the imported variant has increased by up to Tk50 per kg, even a month ago, the price of imported red chillies was Tk440-Tk 450 per kg.
Naeem Hasan, a vendor at Rob Store in Karwan Bazar, the capital's largest wholesale market, said the same.
The seller said that now every kg of imported dry red chilli is selling at Tk 480.
Abdul Jabbar of Karwan Bazar's Jabbar Store said that there are various grades of red chillies, among them, the price of imported red chillies has increased more and the price of local variants has increased less than that.
Despite the hike in price, the sale of dry chillies has also increased as the market of green chillies has been volatile since last month.
Although the price of red chillies has increased earlier, there is no major instability in the market, he added.
The owner of Khan Traders said that since the beginning of this year, the price of dry red chillies has been increasing though it goes down sometimes.
Just after Eid, the price increased by Tk 30-40 per kg as the land ports were closed for the Eid holiday. Now the price is increasing as the demand for red chilli instead of green chilli went up a bit.
Still, there is no risk of instability, he added.