Al Amin :
The prices of many food items and household essentials have gone up by 10 to 20 percent in the capital due to panic-buying by consumers amid the coronavirus fear.
Sellers said, they have never seen such a jump in sale in recent years.
Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, however, urged all not to buy essential commodities beyond the regular needs as there are adequate stocks to meet the demand.
“The stock, supply and prices of the essential commodities in the market are normal. So, there is no need to go for panic buying of the commodities on account of COVID-19,” he said while speaking at a press conference at the secretariat in the city on Wednesday.
He further said in view of the upcoming fasting month of Ramadan, the stocks of the essential commodities are now a few times higher than the actual demand of the country.
“We have already ensured the stocks of different essential commodities, including oil, pulse, onion, garlic and salt. The overall stock in this year is around 40 percent higher than the previous year,” he said.
The commerce minister said, the capacity of the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) will be strengthened for selling through OMS (open market sale) of key essential items ahead of Ramadan.
He also informed that TCB will introduce OMS within April. Visiting different kitchen markets in the city, this correspondent found that the prices of vegetables including cucumber, green papaya, pumpkin, brinjal and gourd have increased by 10 to 20 percent in the last two days. Prices of spices have also gone up as people stockpile for a month or more.
The price of lemon has skyrocketed in recent days as four small pieces are being sold at Tk 30 to Tk 40 in small retail shops in lanes and bylanes.
The situation is different in super shops, such as Meenabazar and Agora, where there was no big rush for panic buying except for hand wash, sanitiser and toilet cleaner.
The price of coarse rice has increased by Tk5 per Kg to Tk40 per Kg. A sack of 25 kg minicate and nazirsail (fine quality) rice increased by Tk100 only.
A pack of lifebuoy refill hand wash (170ml) is being sold at Tk60 (MRP) instead of Tk55 a few days ago because of a hike in demand. It is the same for other items, be it packets of rice or flour, home cleaning products, or spices.
“My sales tripled in a day. People have gone crazy, each of them buying Tk8,000-Tk10,000’s-worth of food and other essentials,” said Mominullah, who has run a shop at the Jatrabari market for over three decades.
Monirul Islam Milon, owner of Milon Traders, told The New Nation, “Daily sales were not more than Tk15,000 even a few days ago. But sales have now risen to Tk25,000-30,000 per day.”
People are mostly buying cleansing products like hand washes, soaps, floor cleaners, and regular and toilet tissues, he added.
