All efforts by the government and regulatory agencies have failed to arrest the growing prices of essentials during the month of Ramadan.
The government has banned exports of several items and tightened vigil on markets while state-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) started sale of some products at low prices in open market ahead of Ramadan.
But the ban on exports of eggplant, cucumber, green chilli, garlic and coriander leaves from June 25 failed to contain spiralling of their price.
On the first Friday of Ramadan, eggplant was selling at Tk 80-100 per kilogram in Dhaka’s kitchen markets against Tk 50-60 a week back, cucumber at Tk 48-50 against Tk 25-30 and green chilli at Tk 60-65 against Tk 50-60.
The prices of potato, garlic and ginger also registered a stiff rise. Per kg of potato was sold at Tk 25-26, garlic at Tk 80-85 and ginger at Tk 160-240 on Friday.
Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed and business leaders had earlier assured that essentials’ market would remain stable during Ramadan as there would be adequate stock of the commodities.
But the market had seen sharp rise in prices of essential commodities even before Ramadan. Business leaders had, however, attributed the hikes to the unfavourable weather.
The prices have kept increasing even as the spell of bad weather is over.
Onion topped the list of price-hiked commodities.
The fixing of minimum export price of onion at $500 a tonne recently by India, which caters to a large portion of demand in Bangladesh, has destabilised the market here.
The produce’s prices rose by Tk 15 a kg in two weeks following India’s decision.
Shyambazar Agriculture Wholesale Market Traders’ Association President Md Sayeed told bdnews24.com on Friday: “Onion prices have increased in our market due to its price rise in India.”
He said: “Onion imports are possible from several other countries, but people don’t consume that,” he added.
Sayeed said retail market needed vigil like wholesale market during Ramadan.
Apex trade body, the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), every year forms market monitoring cell, which usually works with wholesalers and producers.
Chief of this year’s cell Md Helaluddin, who is also FBCCI Vice-President, however, claimed that market of ‘all commodities’ remained stable though prices of eggplant, cucumber and onion ‘have increased a bit’.
He told bdnews24.com on Friday: “Prices of eggplant and cucumber have gone up because consumers are purchasing it in large quantity while onion prices have increased because of Indian market.”
He, however, hoped the market would stabilize soon.
Bangladesh’s annual demand for onion is estimated at 2.3 million tonnes.
The agriculture ministry says 1.91 million tonnes of the commodity were produced in Bangladesh last year while the central bank says the country imported over 0.5 million tonnes during that period.
Bangladeshi businesses import onion from China and sometimes from Myanmar, Pakistan and Turkey but their quality is not like Indian variety.
Meanwhile, TCB is selling sugar, date, soybean oil, lentil and gram, whose consumption rises during Ramadan, on 117 trucks across the country to keep their prices under control.
Each of the truck is selling 1 tonne of sugar, 200-400 litres of soybean oil, gram and lentil each and 50-100 kgs of date.
Prices of all these commodities but date have remained static due to the market sale initiated by TCB. Date prices have gone by Tk 20-60 in last one week.
However, soybean oil and palm oil prices declined in the week. Per litre of soybean oil was selling at Tk 90-95 and palm oil at Tk 76-80on Friday.
sOURCE: BDNEWS24