The market for essential kitchen commodities is heating up again ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr, as prices of several items went up.
According to kitchen market traders, prices of fine grain rice, pulses, Bombay lachcha and local shemai (vermicelli), pasteurized milk, sugar, raisins, spices and other items have already begun to rise, despite Eid being more than two weeks away.
They said that fine grain rice shot up by Tk15 per kilogram, without any logical reason, from Tk125-135 per kg a week ago.
It is not being sold at Tk140-150 per kg, while the loose variety is sold at Tk110-Tk115 per kg.
Various spices, which are commonly used in food served on Eid, also saw a sharp hike.
Ginger was being sold at Tk140 per kg for the local variant, and Tk100 per kg for the imported variant, which was Tk100-Tk120 and Tk80-Tk90 last week, respectively.
Cumin is being sold at Tk450 per kg, which was Tk400 per kg last week, while cinnamon sold at Tk500 per kg, which was Tk460 per kg last week.
Cloves, another important spice, were being sold at Tk1,200 per kg, which was Tk1,100 last week, while cardamom sold at Tk3,200 per kg, which was Tk3,000 last week.
Moreover, coriander, bay leaves, red chilies, turmeric, garlic also experienced a sharp hike in the past few days.
The price of pasteurized milk also went up abnormally high. The price of a 1-litre pack powder milk was Tk700 for Dano, Tk720 for Diploma, Tk610 for Fresh, and Tk620 for Marks, which was Tk660, Tk700, Tk580, Tk600 respectively last week, said state data.
However, consumers said that the price is much higher in the retail market than the marked price at government websites.
“Whenever there is an occasion, the consumer needs fine grain 'polao' rice and other spices items. Greedy traders take advantage of this,” said Nazrul Islam, a resident of Kallyanpur area in the capital.
Not only fine rice but the prices of all festival-centric products are on the rise. There is a clear trend of profiteering from prices of all kinds of products, he added.
Among other products, the price of sugar also increased to Tk80 per kg for the white variant, and Tk100 for the local brown variant.
However, there was an extreme scarcity of brown sugar in the country’s market.
The Eid-centric products like lachcha shemai also experienced a sharp hike.
The meat market is also in disarray, as beef prices further witnessed a hike, sold at Tk700-720 per kg which was Tk650-Tk670 last week and Tk600-Tk620 last month.
The sufferings of poor and lower middle-income people, who depend largely on broiler and Pakistani chicken, fish and egg for protein, have also intensified.
Broiler chicken prices increased to Tk170-Tk180 per kg, Pakistani chicken to Tk330-360, local chicken Tk550-580 and farm-bred Rui fish to Tk350-400 per kg.
The price of lemon, banana, mint leaves, and coriander leaves also experienced a hike.
State-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) data showed that paijam rice is being sold at Tk70 per kg, while coarse rice is being sold at Tk48 per kg.
However, these variants didn’t experience any abnormal hike since last month, though customers said the existing price is quite higher than they could afford.
The price of onions however dropped to Tk25-Tk30 per kg, which was Tk30-Tk35 per kg last week.
The price of flour also did not experience any hike in recent days, remaining at Tk58 per kg for packed and Tk50 for loose variant, though it was quite little higher from the last month and far higher from the last 2-3 months.
The price of soybean oil and palm oil remained the same of the last week, Tk760 for 5-litre bottle, Tk160-Tk170 for 1-litre bottle, and loose palm oil at Tk145 per litre, while super palm oil at Tk148 per litre.
However, the market of vegetables is still in turmoil as brinjals cost Tk70-85 a kg, while cucumbers cost Tk80-100, and tomatoes Tk50-60 a kg, all up by Tk15-20 in a span of a few days.
The price of dates and watermelon has also experienced a hike in the last few days.
Moinul Islam, a consumer from Shah Ali Market of Mirpur area, said that watermelon is now out of reach of the lower classes.
If a worker earns Tk500 for a whole day, he will not buy watermelon for Tk300-Tk400. Because he has to buy daily necessities first, he added.
But buyers said that syndicates, corruption, and the greed of several traders are responsible for the rise of prices of essential commodities.
