Potato, egg prices remain unchanged, chicken, onion rise
Prices of broiler and Sonali chickens increased by 10 a kg in the capital in less than a week while prices of onion rose by a Tk 5 a kg, what traders said was a fall in supply triggering the price surge.
Other commodities including rice, lentils, eggs and potatoes remain unchanged at higher prices.
It has been learned after visiting the kitchen markets in the capital’s Mailbagh, Moghbazar and Shajahanpur on Thursday and talking to traders that the supply of chicken fell slightly due to incessant rain in the various parts of the country, raising the price of broiler chicken to Tk 190 a kg from 180 a kg last week and price of Sonali chicken to Tk 320-330 a kg from Tk 310-320 a kg last week.
Kamrul Islam, a chicken trader from Malibagh, told Prothom Alo prices rose slightly as supply is low. Usually, rainfall increases the price of essentials, and the market trend can be understood after a couple of days.
Prices of local varieties and imported onions rose by Tk 5 a kg with local varieties being sold at Tk 90-95 a kg and imported onions at Tk 70-75 a kg. Though the government fixed the prices of local varieties of onions at Tk 65-70 a kg, traders did not follow it.
Azhar Uddin, the proprietor of Feni General Store in Shahajanpur market, told Prothom Alo prices of onions saw an uptrend for 2-3 days due to low supply, local varieties of onions being sold at Tk 84-86 a kg at wholesale markets and over Tk 90 a kg at retail markets.
According to the state-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), the price of local varieties of onions rose by 3 per cent to Tk 90 a kg from Tk 80 a kg last week and the price of imported onions increased by about 4 per cent to Tk 75 a kg from Tk 65 a kg last week.
The government also fixed the price of eggs at Tk 144 a dozen and the retail price of potatoes at Tk 35-36 a kg, but eggs were being sold at Tk 145-150 a dozen and potatoes at Tk 45-50 a kg.
However, prices of coarse, medium and fine varieties of rice and lentils saw no downtrend while bottled soybean was sold at Tk 169 a litter. Prices of beef were Tk 750-800 a kg and mutton Tk 1,000-1,100 a kg.
Prices of farmed pangas and tilapia vary from Tk 200 to Tk 250 a kg based on their sizes and rui from Tk 350 to Tk 450 a kg. Though the hilsha season nears an end, the price of a kg-sized hilsha varies from Tk 1,300 to Tk 1,500 a kg. Trader Abdul Mazed from Malibah kitchen market told Prothom Alo that the price of hilsha was high during this season as supply was low.
Rain also spikes vegetable prices as supply drops. Brinjal was sold at Tk 80-100 a kg while the price of other vegetables like luffa, sponge gourd and snake gourd was over Tk 60 a kg. However, papaya was sold at Tk 30-40 a kg, pointed gourd and okra, known as ladies' finger, at over Tk 50 a kg while green chillies were sold at Tk 200-220 a kg.
Aminul Islam, who works at a private firm, lives in the capital’s Mouchak. While purchasing vegetables at Malibagh kitchen market, he told Prothom Alp, “There is no sign of meat and fish prices dropping. Prices of vegetables like potatoes and brinjal are also high, making it difficult for people with fixed income like us to run family expenses.”