Prices of vegetable witnessed a fresh hike on the capital鈥檚 kitchen markets on Friday due to a scarcity of supplies.
Traders said that the peak season for several vegetables had either completely ended or nearing its end, leading to a price hike on local markets.
They also said that as supplies decreased with the end of the season, prices of these vegetables had gone up and would remain slightly higher in the coming days until fresh produce from the new season arrived.
Moreover, the prices of rice, especially high-cost rice like Miniket, remained high on Friday, following a trend of past several weeks.
According to market observations, prices of vegetables were in a range of Tk 50-100 a kilogram, where most of the vegetables were under Tk 50 a kilogram two weeks ago.聽
On Friday, onions were sold at Tk 60 a kilogram, while local garlic was sold at Tk 130 a kilogram and its imported variety at Tk 200 a kilogram at the Karwan Bazar kitchen market.
Spiny gourd was sold at Tk 70-80 a kilogram, which was Tk 60 last week.
Snake gourd, loofah and pointed gourd were sold at Tk 50-70 a kilogram on the market, which were about Tk 30-50 a kilogram two weeks ago.
The price of lady fingers hiked to Tk 50 a kilogram from Tk 40 last week.聽
Moreover, yardlong beans, bitter gourds and aubergines were sold for Tk 60-70 a kilogram, which was about Tk 50-60 a kilogram last week.
The price of green chillies was Tk 80-100 a kilogram, based on variants, which was Tk 50-80 last week. Red chillies were sold at Tk 330-400 a kilogram, depending on variant.
Cucumbers were sold for Tk 80 a kilogram in the capital on Friday.
Prices of potatoes have gone up slightly to Tk 25-30 a kilogram.
Alamgir Hossain, a trader from Karwan Bazar, said that the prices of vegetables heavily relied on supply.
鈥楾he peak season of some vegetables has ended and heavy rains also spoiled some vegetables. We are now purchasing all types of vegetables at higher prices from the producing zones due to a supply shortage,鈥� he added.
Meanwhile, some vegetables that are currently out of season are still available on the market, but at significantly higher prices.
Among them, beans were selling for Tk 300-400 a kilogram, coriander leaves for Tk 350-400, while cauliflower and cabbage were being sold at Tk 80-100 apiece.
However, the price of broiler chicken remained unchanged, selling at Tk 150-160 a kilogram on Friday, while eggs were sold for Tk 125-130 a dozen.
Price of Miniket rice witnessed a hike of Tk 3-5 a kilogram in the last few weeks and remained high on Friday.
Traders said that the prices of rice hiked at the production level, due to a hike in paddy prices which impacted the retail level.
Though the hike in paddy price in the current season is unusual, they said.
On some kitchen markets, including Karwan Bazar, Miniket rice was sold at Tk 76-86 a kilogram, which was Tk 72-80 a kilogram before Eid-ul-Adha.
Earlier, Mahbubul Alam, president of the Bangladesh Auto Major and Husking Mill Owners Association, told 抖阴精品 that production of paddy was 20 per cent less than what was targeted and due to excessive rain in the last month, a significant amount of paddy was spoiled.
鈥楥urrently, we have to buy paddy at Tk 1,700 a maund, which is abnormal in this season. Moreover, a strong syndicate may also be active on paddy markets who stockpile to get higher price,鈥� he added.
He urged the government to increase monitoring in paddy-producing districts across the country.
Beef was sold for Tk 750-780 a kilogram on Friday, while mutton was sold for Tk 1,100-1,250 a kilogram.
Due to a sufficient supply, the fish market has remained relatively stable.
Packaged soya bean oil was sold at Tk 189 a litre and a 5-litre bottle of the item at Tk 922, whereas the prices of unpackaged soya bean oil and palm oil were Tk 169 a litre.
