The prices of green chillies in various Dhaka kitchen markets saw a sudden spike on Wednesday, just after a notable decrease on Monday.
Earlier, the price of green chillies dropped to Tk300 from Tk600 after they were imported from India. On Tuesday, the price ranged between Tk240-Tk300 per kg.
However, on Wednesday, the price skyrocketed to between Tk350-400 per kg.
Some local vendors even have been selling chillies for as much as Tk500 per kg.
Traders attributed the sudden rise of chillies to irregular supply from wholesalers.
Mohan, a vegetable vendor in Mirpur 2, said they have been selling chillies at a higher rate as the prices have increased again.
"Today, I sold 250 grams of chillies for Tk125, a noticeable increase from just yesterday when I was selling them for Tk80-90," said Mohan.
“Today, I am selling chilles for Tk500 per kg,” he added.
Another vendor, Rahman, commented: "We have to sell at higher prices because we buy at higher prices. We do not buy in large quantities. We buy 2-3 kg every day, and that's what we sell."
At the kitchen market in Mirpur 1, vendor Arif stated that on Wednesday, he was selling chillies for Tk400 per kg, a significant increase from Tuesday, when he sold them for Tk240-Tk250 per kg.
"When I visited the wholesale market today, they were not selling chillies. They had tied up the sacks and set them aside, claiming they would sell them for a higher price tomorrow. I managed to obtain just 10kg to sell," he explained, suggesting that the wholesale traders are instigating supply irregularities.
Echoing Arif's allegations, another chilli seller, Sabuj, who is selling local green chilles for Tk350 and imported Indian chilles for Tk400 per kg, complained about the improper supply from the wholesale market.
“They stopped selling chillies from 10:30am this morning, saying they will sell tomorrow for a higher price. Usually, they sell till 1pm,” he said.
Another seller said they buy chilli in two or three lots (5 kilograms per lot) and the wholesaler buys it in large quantities and stores it then they release it when the price increases.
The sudden increase in the price of chillies has shocked many customers. One customer, Alam, expressed his frustration, saying: "The sellers do whatever they want. One day the price is one thing, the next day it is something else. The price does not just increase by Tk10-20, it doubles."
Another customer, Shahin, said the sellers blame each other but no one has any idea who increases the price of which item when.
