Powdered milk, an essential commodity, saw fresh price hikes in recent times,on top of other commodity price hikes.
The maximum retail price (MRP) of two leading brands -- Dano (Arla Food) and Diploma (New Zealand Dairy) -- hit Tk840-850 per kilogram (kg) on Sunday, increasing from Tk40-50 a kg back in June.
It is for the third time that the prices of milk went up in the last six months.
Another brand Marks (Abul Khayer) increased to Tk780-790 per pack of one kg while Fresh (Meghna Group) to Tk700-710 a kg, a Tk30-40 hike a kg.
Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) recorded a 6-7% hike in powdered milk prices in a week while the current prices are 25-26% higher than a year ago.
The price increased last in June this year; before that it was also reviewed upward in the first week of March when the global price hit a decade-long hike of $4,760 a tonne, according to industry sources.
The price of the powdered milk has been reviewed at a time when the global prices were showing a downtrend for the last four months, according to the global commodity portals.
The average price of powdered milk declined to $3,417 a tonne in August, according to Global Dairy Trade.
Sources at the companies said a significant appreciation of US dollar against Bangladeshi currency and a notable hike in freight charges have held back getting benefit out of the global price fall.
Bangladesh imports 120,000-130,000 tonnes of powdered milk annually to meet the local demand, according to the Commerce Ministry.
Meanwhile, liquid milk prices also increased last month to Tk90 a litre from Tk80 earlier.