Al Amin :
Prices of the key essential items, including rice, pulses, sugar, eggs and vegetables soared abnormally in the city’s kitchen markets due to the consumers’ panic-buying, triggered by fears of coronavirus spread, markets observers said.
They said that more customers than usual rushed to kitchen markets and shops and purchased more goods than normal in the last few days.
Analysts said that the Commerce Ministry should take planned and effective action to ensure stability in the markets by strengthening markets monitoring cells.
If any businessman commits fraud, he must be punished, they said.
Actually, people spend their time to buy various essential goods by getting panicked in an emergency period. Unscrupulous
businessmen take the chance during this time and the consumers suffer. So, the consumers should refrain from extra buying in the situation, the analysts said.
For fear of further spread of novel coronavirus in Bangladesh amid a global pandemic, many city-dwellers were making food stockpiles at their homes fearing possible lockdown amid the viral infection that already killed one in the country.
Prices of staple rice have increased by Tk 10-20 per kilogram (kg) at retail shops depending on varieties. Finer quality miniket, najirshail and jeerashail were selling at Tk 60-68 per kg on Friday. Medium quality Brridhan-28, paijam and lata were trading at Tk 52-56 a kg, while coarse variety Swarna and BR-11 at Tk 40- 42 a kg on the day.
Raqibul Alam, a grocer of Mohammadpur Zakir Hossain Road, said that people who have purchasing capacity are now busy stocking rice, pulses, potato, flour, onion, other cooking ingredients, dry food and sanitary items to prepare for the worst situation which may arise out of the virus outbreak.
Acknowledging that both wholesalers and retailers were charging additional prices for the items, he said there was a huge stock of the products in the city wholesale markets.
Mohammad Asadullah, a Babubazar-based trader, said millers have also increased prices of the items by Tk 1.5-2.0 per kg in the last three days amid rising demand in Dhaka, Chattogram and other big cities.
“Millers in Kushtia and Rangpur district supplied the best quality miniket at Tk 2,750-2,780 for a 50-kg sack on Wednesday which was Tk 1,600 a few days back.
He said, retailers in Dhaka also want to make more profits now which is hitting the consumers, especially the common people.
Asadullah said they were selling best quality miniket at Tk 53-54 a kg which are retailing at Tk 60-65 a kg by the grocers and chain-shops now.
Potato prices rose by Tk 5.0 per kg selling at Tk 25 (cardinal, diamond) and Tk 35 (local or carriage) a kg.
Sugar prices increased to Tk 70-75 per kg from Tk 68-72 a kg. Egg prices jumped to Tk 108- 110 per dozen on Thursday which was Tk 90-96 a dozen a week back.
Coarse lentil was traded at Tk 80-90 per kg and finer quality thereof at Tk 120-145 a kg on the day-Tk 10- 20 hike in a week. Amid a significant cost hike of hand sanitisers of all brands, this correspondent noticed a price hike of baby diapers too.
In many places of the city, there was also supply shortage of sanitisers, baby diapers, dry foods, oral saline and other necessary items.
The local onion was sold at Tk55 per kg on Thursday, it was selling at Tk60 to Tk80 per kg on Friday.
Each dozen of eggs has been sold for Tk120, about Tk25 more than the previous day.
The prices of different varieties of rice have increased by Tk2-3 per kilogram. On Thursday, coarse rice was sold at Tk38-42, medium-quality rice at Tk52-55 and premium quality rice at Tk56-64 per kg.
Deputy Director of the Directorate of National Consumers’ Right Protection, Monjur Md Shahriar said, “Many traders have raised the prices of the commodities by capitalising the issue of coronavirus. Buyers are also purchasing extra goods as they have become more panicked.”
“We are monitoring the matter on holiday like today (Friday),” he added.
Prices of the key essential items, including rice, pulses, sugar, eggs and vegetables soared abnormally in the city’s kitchen markets due to the consumers’ panic-buying, triggered by fears of coronavirus spread, markets observers said.
They said that more customers than usual rushed to kitchen markets and shops and purchased more goods than normal in the last few days.
Analysts said that the Commerce Ministry should take planned and effective action to ensure stability in the markets by strengthening markets monitoring cells.
If any businessman commits fraud, he must be punished, they said.
Actually, people spend their time to buy various essential goods by getting panicked in an emergency period. Unscrupulous
businessmen take the chance during this time and the consumers suffer. So, the consumers should refrain from extra buying in the situation, the analysts said.
For fear of further spread of novel coronavirus in Bangladesh amid a global pandemic, many city-dwellers were making food stockpiles at their homes fearing possible lockdown amid the viral infection that already killed one in the country.
Prices of staple rice have increased by Tk 10-20 per kilogram (kg) at retail shops depending on varieties. Finer quality miniket, najirshail and jeerashail were selling at Tk 60-68 per kg on Friday. Medium quality Brridhan-28, paijam and lata were trading at Tk 52-56 a kg, while coarse variety Swarna and BR-11 at Tk 40- 42 a kg on the day.
Raqibul Alam, a grocer of Mohammadpur Zakir Hossain Road, said that people who have purchasing capacity are now busy stocking rice, pulses, potato, flour, onion, other cooking ingredients, dry food and sanitary items to prepare for the worst situation which may arise out of the virus outbreak.
Acknowledging that both wholesalers and retailers were charging additional prices for the items, he said there was a huge stock of the products in the city wholesale markets.
Mohammad Asadullah, a Babubazar-based trader, said millers have also increased prices of the items by Tk 1.5-2.0 per kg in the last three days amid rising demand in Dhaka, Chattogram and other big cities.
“Millers in Kushtia and Rangpur district supplied the best quality miniket at Tk 2,750-2,780 for a 50-kg sack on Wednesday which was Tk 1,600 a few days back.
He said, retailers in Dhaka also want to make more profits now which is hitting the consumers, especially the common people.
Asadullah said they were selling best quality miniket at Tk 53-54 a kg which are retailing at Tk 60-65 a kg by the grocers and chain-shops now.
Potato prices rose by Tk 5.0 per kg selling at Tk 25 (cardinal, diamond) and Tk 35 (local or carriage) a kg.
Sugar prices increased to Tk 70-75 per kg from Tk 68-72 a kg. Egg prices jumped to Tk 108- 110 per dozen on Thursday which was Tk 90-96 a dozen a week back.
Coarse lentil was traded at Tk 80-90 per kg and finer quality thereof at Tk 120-145 a kg on the day-Tk 10- 20 hike in a week. Amid a significant cost hike of hand sanitisers of all brands, this correspondent noticed a price hike of baby diapers too.
In many places of the city, there was also supply shortage of sanitisers, baby diapers, dry foods, oral saline and other necessary items.
The local onion was sold at Tk55 per kg on Thursday, it was selling at Tk60 to Tk80 per kg on Friday.
Each dozen of eggs has been sold for Tk120, about Tk25 more than the previous day.
The prices of different varieties of rice have increased by Tk2-3 per kilogram. On Thursday, coarse rice was sold at Tk38-42, medium-quality rice at Tk52-55 and premium quality rice at Tk56-64 per kg.
Deputy Director of the Directorate of National Consumers’ Right Protection, Monjur Md Shahriar said, “Many traders have raised the prices of the commodities by capitalising the issue of coronavirus. Buyers are also purchasing extra goods as they have become more panicked.”
“We are monitoring the matter on holiday like today (Friday),” he added.
