Banker Raziur Rahman was outraged by the sudden price hike of essentials as he went to the city’s Kawran Bazar kitchen market on Wednesday, the first day before Ramadan, to buy some sehri and ifter items.
“Green chilli is selling at Tk130-140 a kg. It was Tk30 a kg only a week before. Is it acceptable?” Frustrated Raziur said in a voice of anger.
Every year the government asks businessmen not to hike prices of essentials but its call falls on deaf ears and unscrupulous traders swindle 160m people out of billions of taka during the Ramadan.
“What is the government doing?” asked Raziur. “The middle-class people are the worst sufferers.”
“Everyone – from poor to rich – is buying more than usual during the month of Ramadan. As the supply is less than the demand the price of onion has increased,” a wholesale trader Hafizur Rahman explained the reason behind the price hike.
The Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), however, said this year the country has no supply shortage.
Ramadan has hit the kitchen market badly with the prices of green chili, onion, garlic, ginger, lemon and coriander leaf going up.
Visiting the Kawran Bazar kitchen market on July 1 it was found that onion was selling at Tk36 a kg, aubergine at Tk35 a kg, garlic at Tk60 a kg, green chili at Tk30 a kg, coriander leaf at Tk40 a kg, ginger at Tk55 a kg and four pieces of lemon at Tk4-10.
But on July 9, a visit to the same kitchen market found that onion was selling at Tk50 a kg, aubergine at Tk80, garlic at Tk70, green chilli atTk120, coriander leaf at Tk160, ginger at Tk78 and four pieces of lemon at Tk40.
“We do not know why the prices of essentials go up during the month of Ramadan, only the importers can say all about it.
There is no shortage of supply,” Majibar Bapari, a small garlic and ginger trader said.
Dulal Mia too does not think that the supply was short: “Supply has increased dramatically with the start of Ramadan and the prices of vegetables will increase further.”
But during a revisit to the same kitchen market on July 11 it was found that onion was selling at Tk52 a kg, aubergine at Tk80, garlic at Tk70-85, green chilli at Tk200, coriander leaf at Tk210, ginger at Tk80 and four pieces of lemon at Tk45.
Annoyed at the soaring prices Beauty Akand, a housewife from Indira Road, said the prices of vegetables had doubled and in some cases tripled just within a week without any reason.
“There has been no heavy rain or hartal. No one cares for us,” she said demanding immediate government’s interference in reigning in the skyrocketing price hike of daily essentials.
