Going to the kitchen market? Forget about govt price chart

Do not take the government's price chart for granted. Add Tk35 for onion, Tk35 for broiler, Tk135 for beef per kilogram. This is what the city's kitchen markets suggest a day after the authorities fixed retail prices for 29 essential agricultural products to give consumers some respite from the Ramadan price shocks.

Many of the items are not being sold at the fixed prices, with a significant disparity found between the prices set by the government and those at which most products are being sold in the market.

A buyer would have needed Tk4,813 to purchase 29 products at the prices per kilogram or per piece set in a government notification issued on Friday, signed by the Director General of the Department of Agricultural Marketing Md Masud Karim.

However, consumers had to pay an additional approximately Tk750 to purchase the products on Saturday. Retailers say they have not received any instructions on the prices set by the government so far.

Infographic: Mehedi Hasan Marof/TBS

In September 2023, the government fixed the prices of six products, including liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), sugar, oil, potatoes, onions, and eggs. However, the prices of products other than LPG cylinders, potatoes, eggs, and oil have not been implemented.

Sellers and experts are attributing this to weak government monitoring and the incorrect application of pricing methods.

SM Najer Hossain, vice president of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB), said fixing prices is a very important step at all stages.

"But implementation is very challenging. Despite the government's efforts to fix prices for various products, enforcement has been lacking. Therefore, all government agencies and departments must collaborate to ensure products are sold at fixed prices, providing relief to ordinary consumers," he added.

The fixed rates versus the reality

On Saturday, in Dhaka's Karwan Bazar, Moghbazar, and Chattogram's Kazir Dewri kitchen market, products were observed being sold at higher prices than the fixed rates.

In Moghbazar, broiler chicken was priced at Tk210 per kg, sonali chicken at Tk320, eggs at Tk11.5 per piece, a local variety of onions at Tk80-90 per kg, ginger at Tk210, green chilli at Tk80, eggplant at Tk60, and potato at Tk40.

In Friday's notification, broiler chickens were mandated to be sold at Tk175.30 per kg, Sonali chicken at Tk262, mutton at Tk1003.56, pangas (farm) at Tk180.87, katla (farm) at Tk353.59, and eggs at Tk10.49 each.

Abu Bakar, a dates seller, said the Zahidi variety was priced at Tk350 per kg yesterday. When asked about the government's fixed price of Tk185, he responded, "Those prices are only on TVs and not available in the market."

"No sane person would buy dates at Tk250 per kg and sell them at Tk185. I can't sell it for even one taka less than Tk350," he added.

Meanwhile, the sagar variety of bananas was sold at Tk40 for every four pieces in most markets in the capital on Saturday, significantly higher than the government-fixed price of Tk30. Similarly, beef was being sold for Tk750 per kg, instead of the Tk664 set by the agricultural marketing department.

Amir Hossain, a meat seller at Karwan Bazar, lamented, "The actual price is high, and we cannot incur losses by selling beet at lower prices."

At Kazir Deuri kitchen market, broiler chicken was priced at Tk200 per kg, Sonali chicken at Tk280, beef at Tk800, mutton at Tk1100, pangas (farm) at Tk200, katla (farm) at Tk450, and eggs at Tk11.66 each.

Among the pulses, imported chickpeas were selling at Tk115 per kg, improved lentil at Tk140, coarse lentil at Tk110, mung dal at Tk195, khesari dal at Tk140, maskalai at Tk180, and gram flour at Tk110 per kg in the markets and nearby grocery stores.

However, according to government regulations, imported chickpeas should be sold at Tk98.30, improved lentil at Tk130.50, coarse lentil at Tk105.50, mung dal at Tk165.41, khesari dal at Tk92.61, maskalai at Tk166.41, and gram flour at Tk121.30.

Similarly, among dry and spice products, domestic onions are expected to sell at Tk65.40, local garlic at Tk120.81, imported ginger at Tk180.20, dry chili at Tk327.34, dates (Zaidi) at Tk185.07, and coarse flattened rice at Tk60."

Yesterday, among the products in the market, the local variety of onions was selling at Tk90, local garlic at Tk220, imported ginger at Tk190, dry chilli at Tk480, dates (Zaidi) at Tk300, and coarse flattened rice at Tk70.

In the kitchen markets of the city, including Kazi Dewri, green chillies were being sold at Tk60, eggplant at Tk50, potato at Tk40, cabbage at Tk20, cauliflower at Tk50, beans at Tk60, tomato at Tk40, sweet pumpkin at Tk40, and the Sagar variety of banana at Tk46.66 for every four pieces.

In Friday's notification, green chillies were priced at Tk60.20 per kg, eggplant at Tk49.75, potato at Tk28.55, cabbage at Tk24.30, cauliflower at Tk29.60, beans at Tk48, tomato at Tk40.20, sweet pumpkin at Tk23.38, and sagar banana at Tk29.78 for every four pieces.

As per the market rate, all other products except gram flour, green chillies, eggplant, cabbage, tomato, and sweet pumpkin are being sold at a higher price than the government-fixed prices.

About the sale of products at higher prices than those set by the government, Enam Uddin, proprietor of Jiban Grocery at Kazi Dewri CDA Market, mentioned that almost every product in the shop was bought at a higher price before Ramadan. "In other words, we had to purchase from the wholesale market at a higher price than the price fixed by the government."

Balay Kumar Poddar, proprietor of Grameen Banijyola, a trader of kitchen items such as onion, garlic, and ginger in the wholesale market in Khatunganj, expressed, "We also advocate for prices to be fixed at every stage. Importers or middlemen tend to make extra profits by selling products at higher prices than import costs, while dealers or commission agents face fines during market monitoring." This businessman believes that effective market control is achievable with robust monitoring from production or import to the retail market.

Providing examples of a few products, he noted that the government has set the retail price of local garlic at Tk120.81, onion at Tk65.40, and dry chilli at Tk327.34. "However, we had to procure garlic at Tk190 per kg, onion at Tk85, and dried chilli at Tk440 from the wholesale market. Thus, without monitoring the market from the import or production levels, it is not feasible to suddenly sell products at fixed prices," commented this businessman.

Mohammad Faiz Ullah, deputy director of the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection in Chattogram, said regular market monitoring of consumer rights is ongoing.

"We have already received government instructions to sell 29 products at fixed prices. Market monitoring will commence soon in accordance with the directive. The government has set these prices by adjusting the cost at all levels of import-production from source to the retail market," he added.

The prices of 29 commodities were fixed on Friday under the Agricultural Marketing Act of 2018. The notification stated that the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Agriculture will jointly implement this initiative.

Officials from both ministries will be present in the field, and officials from the consumer rights directorate will enforce the law, which includes various penalties such as fines.

Earlier, the retail market was instructed to sell normal quality dates at Tk150 to Tk165 per kg and widely used Zaidi dates at Tk170 to Tk180. However, implementation was not observed in the market. Even before this, the government had fixed the prices of some products, including soybean oil and sugar.