Price of onion up by Tk10 per kg

The price of onion has increased by Tk10 per kilogram, from Tk35 per kg two days before Eid to Tk45 per kg, in just 10 days.

On Friday, several markets including Hatirpul Kitchen Market, Kathalbagan, and Karwan Bazar were selling onions at Tk45-50 per kg in contrast to the Tk30-35 ten days ago.

Retail sellers claim that due to the hike in wholesale prices, they have had to increase prices. 

Onion imports from India are closed at the moment as the Ministry of Agriculture has stopped the Import Approval (IP) for onions so that local farmers can get fair prices which have lowered the onion supply in the local markets contributing to the price hike, they added.

But the price of onions has not increased in the wholesale markets. On Friday, the capital's biggest wholesale market Shyambazar was selling local onions at Tk34-35 per kg which ten days ago was Tk30-32 per kg.  

Abdul Majed, vice-president of Shyambazar Merchants' Association, told The Business Standard that there is no problem with the supply of onions.

"I am selling onions at Tk34 – 35 per kg. I do not understand why retail prices have increased so much," Majed added.

Price of broiler chicken up by Tk20 per kg

Two days after Eid, broiler chicken was being sold at Tk130 per kg which has now increased to Tk150 per kg. The seller claims that due to increased demand, the price has gone up.

Sujan Hawlader, a vendor in the capital's Hatirpul Bazar, said that as the city-dwellers are returning to the capital after Eid, there is more demand for chicken which has increased the prices. The supply of the chicken is also low due to the ongoing countrywide lockdown, he added.

Kitchen markets at Hatirpul and Kathalbagan were selling broiler chicken at Tk150 per kg while at Karwan Bazar, it was being sold at Tk145 per kg. Sonali chicken is being sold at Tk280 per kg, Cock chicken at Tk260 per kg, and country chicken at Tk650 per kg.

The price of beef and mutton remained the same as before Eid. The beef was selling at Tk600 per kg while mutton at Tk900 per kg.

Price at rice market

At different rice markets around the capital, Miniket is being sold at Tk65, Bri-28 at Tk55, and Paijam at Tk50. Some shops are selling the new Miniket rice at Tk60 per kg and Bri – 28 at Tk52 – 53 per kg.

In the wholesale market of Karwan Bazar, the price of Bri-28 rice is Tk47 per kg. Miniket old rice is at Tk58 per kg and new rice at Tk55 per kg.

Mohammad Shahjahan, a vendor at Muktar Rice Agency in Karwan Bazar, told The Business Standard that the rice market has been the same for 10 days. When the new rice arrives at the market, prices will go down, he added.

Retail prices of vegetables are double than wholesale prices

At the wholesale market of Karwan Bazar, eggplant is being sold at Tk16 – 20 per kg, snake gourd at Tk15, Okra at Tk15 per kg which is being sold at Tk40 at the Karwan Bazar retail market, just a few yards from the wholesale shops.

The wholesale price of chilli pepper at Karwan Bazar is Tk30-35 per kg which is Tk70-80 per kg in the retail market.

Mohammad Shahidul is a wholesale trader who brought 900 kg of pointed gourd from Jashore to sell it in Karwan Bazar. He told The Business Standard that he had sold 15 kg of the vegetable at the wholesale market. 

The prices vary each day and on Friday morning, the pointed gourd was sold at Tk13 per kg, he added.

In the Hatirpul and Kathalbagan markets on Friday, the retail price of the pointed gourd is Tk40 per kg, potato is Tk25 per kg, bitter gourd is Tk60 per kg, okra is Tk40 per kg, papaya is Tk50 per kg, cucumber is Tk40 per kg, chilli pepper is Tk80 per kg, snake gourd is Tk50 per kg, eggplant at Tk40 – 50 per kg, and tomato is Tk50 per kg.

About the retail and wholesale prices of vegetables, Rafiqul Islam, who came to shop at the Hatirpul market, said, "We do not need a lot of vegetables at a time so, we cannot purchase from the wholesale shops even if prices are low there, as they expect you to buy in bulk."

"If the government properly monitored the situation, there would not have been so much difference between the wholesale and retail prices," he added.

Golam Rahman, president of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB), told The Business Standard that a product that is being sold at a wholesale price of Tk15 will be sold for Tk30 just a mile away, which needs to be researched.

 "Our farmers do not get fair prices. A few days ago, watermelons were being sold at Tk70 per kg but the farmers sold them at low prices," he added.

Other products in the markets 

In the Hatirpul market, Indian garlic was being sold at Tk130 per kg, local garlic at Tk70, ginger at Tk100, unpacked sugar at Tk70, white packeted sugar at Tk78 and red sugar at Tk85. Teer oil was priced at Tk650 per five litres and Bashundhara oil at Tk640 per five litres.