The price of potatoes witnessed a sharp rise after Eid-ul-Fitr in the capital Dhaka, rising by Tk 15-20 a kilogram to reach Tk 55-60 a kilogram on Wednesday.
The price of the commodity soared way past the rate set up the government on March 14.
Visiting different kitchen markets in the capital on the day, it was found that potatoes were being sold for Tk聽55-60 a kilogram, about Tk聽27-32 higher than the government-set price of Tk聽28.55 a kilogram at retail level.
Retail sellers said that potato was sold at Tk 40-45 a kilogram before Eid-ul-Fitr, which was celebrated in the country on April 11.
On March 14, the government announced rational prices of 29 agricultural commodities, including potato, onion, garlic, egg, broiler chicken, beef, mutton and fish, amid another spell of price hike of almost all the daily essentials on the kitchen markets across the country.
The Department of Agricultural Marketing under the agriculture ministry in an announcement said that the prices of the commodities had been set as per section 4 (i) under the Agricultural Marketing Act, 2018.
The section of the act stated that, for carrying out the purpose of this act, the function of the Department of Agricultural Marketing shall be determination and implementation of the lowest and reasonable price of agricultural produce.聽
As per the act, the department set the rational retail price for potato at Tk 28.55 a kilogram and its wholesale price at Tk 23.30 for a kilogram of the item.
The government-set price remains unimplemented even one month after its announcement.
Traders of the essential commodities, however, declined to comply with the government-set prices of the commodities, saying, 鈥楿nder open market economy, the government cannot set the prices of any commodity.鈥�
Bangladesh Dokan Malik Samity made the statement at a press conference on March 14.
Retail sellers said that the supply of potatoes was not enough to meet the demand of consumers.
Wholesalers are storing potatoes in cold storages for supplying the item to the markets at a later time to reap more profits, they added.
Earlier in September 2023, the commerce ministry set the prices of three locally produced food items 鈥� egg, potato and onion 鈥� for the first time against the backdrop of soaring prices of the commodities, but those prices were not implemented for a single day.
