Prices of essentials double near Rohingya refugee camps

The prices of daily essential commodities including groceries and vegetables have almost doubled around the refugee camps in Teknaf, Ukhiya and other border areas near Myanmar where Rohingya refugees are coming in. Prices of potato, onion, rice, soy-bean oil, sugar and other daily essentials kept going up in the last few days as the flow of refugees fleeing military crackdown in Myanmar kept growing. In Teknaf town, potatoes were going for Tk25-30 per kg last Monday and by Sunday they had become Tk70-75. Rice was Tk40-42 per kg and grew to Tk65-70. Per kg of broiler chicken became Tk185-190 from Tk135-40. Locals are alleging that businessmen here are taking advantage of the situation to inflate essential commodity prices. Drinking water was going for Tk10-15 higher per litre and oral saline packets, whose retail price is fixed at Tk5, were selling for Tk10. Selim Uddin, a resident of Teknaf city, said that dishonest businessmen were unnecessarily inflating prices and the local administration did not care about the situation. Abdul Matin, owner of Madina Bitan, a wholesale groceries store in the city, said he had enough stock of all essential products and did not overprice anything. “I think the prices in the retail market are being inflated,” he said. Fruit Bitan, a retailer near the Teknaf bus stand, was selling almost every product at double the usual rate and said they had no option because they were charged inflated prices at the wholesale market. Other retailers blamed the supply shortage for the price hike of essentials and vegetables. This correspondent saw many refugees return empty-handed from stores because they could not afford anything. Md Shah Jamal, district controller of food for Cox's Bazar, told the Dhaka Tribune: “In the middle of this crisis, situation some dishonest people are trying to make exorbitant profits, and our team is working to control the situation as quickly as possible.” “If needed we will take action against those who are illegally raising prices,” he added. Teknaf Upazila Executive Officer Zahid Hossain Siddique on the other hand said he did not believe that prices were being inflated. “Because of the Eid vacation and this crisis, prices are high because demand is double the supply. I do not think this has anything to do with dishonest business mentality,” he said.