Al Amin :
Prices of onion, green chili and garlic, the three essential ingredients in household, have increased in the city’s kitchen markets this week due to shortage of supply of the commodities.
Spikes were seen in the prices of winter vegetables, including snake gourds, bitter gourds, pointed gourds, ash gourds, bottle gourds, colocasia stems, sponge gourds, and teasel gourds.
The skyrocketing prices of onion, green chili, garlic and vegetables are also putting extra pressure on low and middle-income groups, consumers said.
Traders blamed the sharp rise of the prices of the kitchen items due to the low supply in the city markets.They said crisis over onion price is not resolving soon as the imported onion is insufficient to meet the country’s demand.
India imposed ban on export of onion to keep stable its internal markets on September 29 and followed by the announcement, the onion markets in Asia and middle-east countries including Bangladesh have become unstable.
The onion prices have shoot up by Tk 40 per kg in an overnight in Bangladesh and the prices are still high despite different measure taken by the government.
Onions were being sold at Tk 85-95 per kg at the wholesale level, while retailers were selling the item at Tk 100-110 per kg-an increase of Tk 45 in the first week of September.
The imported onions from Myanmar and Turkey were selling at Tk 80-90 per kg at wholesale markets in the city on Saturday.
According to the Commerce Ministry data, over 23,000 tonnes of onion have been imported from Myanmar, India, Egypt and China against the country’s demand of 62,000 tonnes of onions in the last three weeks.
The crisis over the price of onion did not deepen due to substantial onion stocks in the country, the data adds.
Garlic, another prime cooking ingredient, also became costlier. Its retail price increased to Tk 150-170 per kg for both local and imported varieties, up from Tk 130-150 per kg, while green chili was selling at Tk 160-170 per kg.
Visiting the city’s kitchen markets, this correspondent found that winter vegetables were also selling for high prices.
Spikes were seen in the prices of most of the early winter vegetables, including snake gourds, bitter gourds, pointed gourds, ash gourds, bottle gourds, colocasia stems, sponge gourds, and teasel gourds. Traders attributed the rise in prices to the recent decline in supply.
Country bean was selling at Tk 90-120, radish at Tk 60 a kg and small cabbages and cauliflowers at Tk 40-50 apiece respectively.
Seasonal tomatoes and carrots have not hit the market yet, traders said.
Stored tomato was trading at Tk 120-130 per kg and imported carrots at Tk 90-110 per kg at the retail markets.
The prices of broiler chicken witnessed a slight low in the capital’s kitchen markets. Broiler chicken was being sold at Tk 130-140 kg, while the price of red roosters stood at Tk 220-230 per kg.
Traders said vegetable prices might remain high for the next one month until the early winter crops hit the markets.
Consumers said that they have no alternative but to buy at the higher prices. They said that the government should adopt strict measures so that the public does not suffer.
