Prices of green chillies came down sharply in the country's wholesale and retail markets on Sunday after trucks laden with tons of chillies entered from India through various land ports, importers say.
In the wake of the surging price in the local market, the Ministry of Agriculture on June 25 permitted 30 companies to import 11,600 tons of green chillies.
Our correspondents reported that the prices of chillies started coming down in the afternoon at different wholesale markets including Satkhira, Dinajpur and Bogra.
In Bogra's wholesale markets, chillies were being sold at Tk250 per kg on Sunday, a drop from Tk450 on Saturday.
In Satkhira, six trucks carrying 60 tons entered through the Bhomra land port in the afternoon, causing the prices to fall to Tk600 per kg in retail markets of the town.
Amir Hamza, an importer at the land port, said that the LC price of each ton of raw pepper is $450. "As a result, the price of each kg of chilli stands at Tk50. These chillies can be sold for Tk60-70 in the country in the next couple of days."
General Secretary of Bhomra Land Port C&F Agent Association Maqsood Khan hopes that the import of chillies will stabilize in the domestic market. Operations at the land port resumed after being closed for five days.
"We have sufficient LC and IP permissions. From tomorrow (Monday), 20-25 trucks of raw chillies will enter the country every day. Then, there will be a stable situation in the market," he said.
However, another source at the land port claimed that due to the absence of customs officials and server complications, permission was not given to release the trucks until 2:30pm.
Meanwhile, Golam Rasul, a retailer of the old Satkhira Hatkhola market in the city, said: "I bought chillies at Tk500 per kg and sold them at Tk600. I heard that Indian chillies have entered through the port. So, the price will come down tomorrow (Monday)."
