The prices of most vegetables and greens witnessed a fresh hike this week amid prolonged rain and a supply shortage due to the Durga Puja holidays.聽
On Friday, green chillies were sold at Tk 300-350 per kilogram in the capital鈥檚 kitchen markets and vendor shops, including Kalyanpur Natun Bazar, Agargaon Taltala Bazar, and Karwan Bazar wholesale market.
The price of the spice item was about Tk 160-200 per kg just a week ago.
The traders said that due to excessive rain over the past few days across the country and a deep depression over the Bay of Bengal, the chillies even on high land spoiled.
Moreover, trading through land ports has been suspended for up to eight days until Saturday due to the occasion of Durga Puja, which impacted the supply, they added.聽
Md Bulbul, proprietor of Green Chilli Arat 17 at Karwan Bazar, told 抖阴精品 that due to consecutive rains, a large number of green chillies were spoiled at their origin.
鈥楢s the farmers could not pick green chillies due to damped land, the price shot up,鈥� he added.
He also said that due to Durga Puja, the import of green chillies had been paused as trading activities at land ports had been suspended.
鈥業f the supply were聽normal, the price would come down soon, hopefully from Sunday,鈥� he mentioned.
As the lean season for vegetables continues, the prices of almost all vegetables have remained unchanged over the past three months, along with some experiencing a fresh hike.
Spiny gourd was sold at Tk 60-80 a kilogram, the same as the past week, while pointed gourds were sold at Tk 60-70 a kilogram on the day and the price of okra was Tk 70-80 a kilogram.
The prices of yardlong beans and bitter gourds witnessed a fresh hike on Friday to Tk 100-120 per kilogram, up from Tk 80-90 in the past week.聽
Aubergine was sold at Tk 100-120 per kilogram, which was Tk 80-100 a kilogram in the past week.
Red chillies were sold for Tk 350-500 a kilogram, depending on the variant.
Cucumbers were sold for Tk聽60-80 a kilogram at Karwan Bazar, while tomatoes were sold at Tk 120-140 a kilogram.
Potatoes were sold for Tk 20-25 per kilogram, papaya for Tk 30, taro runner for Tk 50-60 and taro stem for Tk 40-50 per kilogram.
Bottle gourds were sold at Tk 40-60 per piece, based on the variant.
The local garlic variant was sold for Tk 100-130 per kilogram and its imported variant for Tk 200. Meanwhile, ginger was sold at Tk 130 per kilogram on Friday.
Prices of vegetables were about Tk聽10-20 higher per unit on neighbourhood markets in the capital compared with those on wholesale markets.
Meanwhile, the persistent high prices left consumers struggling over the past few months.
Tareque Hasan, a private job holder from Kalyanpur, said that the traders always blamed rain for price hike, meaning each rainfalls mean hike in the prices.
鈥業t cannot be acceptable.Tthe government should increase monitoring,鈥� he added.
Regarding the prices of green chillies and vegetables, Md Imran, president of Bangladesh Kachamal Arat Malik Samity, told 抖阴精品 that due to excessive rain over the past few months, the farmland had remained damp or waterlogged.
鈥楾he farmers even could not collect the chillies on high land due to rain as the soil was damp, while the chillies on low land spoiled entirely,鈥� he added.
For this, the country is almost fully dependent on imported chillies, which are halted during Durga Puja as port activities are suspended, he added.
鈥業f the weather conditions become fair in the coming days, farmers might be able to harvest the newly planted聽 chillies, then the聽price would go down normally,鈥� he added.
Regarding other vegetables, he said that the country鈥檚 agriculture was currently in the lean season.
The farmers were working hard to produce more, but could not keep pace with nature, he added, saying that prices would be lower when the seasonal produce started arriving.
On September 4, in a letter to the commerce ministry, the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission acknowledged that the prices of vegetables had witnessed a sharp increase due to the prolonged monsoon rains.
鈥楧ue to the lean season, the price of onions witnessed a hike, where the prices of other vegetables, eggs and chillies also surged due to the prolonged monsoon,鈥� the report added.
The prices of eggs, however, decreased to Tk 130-135 per dozen from the past week, down from Tk 150 per dozen three weeks ago, while the prices of broiler chicken remained unchanged at Tk 170-180 per kilogram.
Onions were sold at Tk 70-80 per kilogram on Friday, while packaged atta was sold at Tk 65-70 per kilogram, and unpackaged atta was sold at Tk 52 per kilogram.
Packaged maida was sold at Tk聽75 a kilogram while its unpackaged variant was sold at Tk聽65 a kilogram.
Fish were also sold at high prices over the past few weeks, with hilsa being sold at Tk 1,300-3,000 a kilogram, depending on size.聽
The prices of hilsa witnessed a fresh hike as the 22-day fishing ban on hilsa is set to begin today.
Among other popular varieties, boal was selling at Tk 750鈥�900 a kilogram, farmed ruhi at Tk 380-450 a kilogram, Katla at Tk 380-480 a kilogram, tilapia at Tk 180鈥�220 a kilogram, pangas at Tk 180鈥�230 a kilogram, koi at Tk 200鈥�220 a kilogram and pabda and shing at Tk 400鈥�500 a kilogram.
On Friday, the price of miniket rice ranged from Tk 75 to Tk聽84 per kilogram, depending on the variant, while paijam or athash was sold at Tk 60-70 per kilogram and the coarse variant at Tk 55-60 per聽kilogram.
Rice prices, meanwhile, are expected to decrease in the coming months, according to a report released by the General Economics Division of the Bangladesh Planning Commission on September 24.
Packaged soya bean oil was sold for Tk聽190 a litre, and a five-litre bottle of the item cost Tk 922. In contrast, the prices of unpackaged soya bean oil and palm oil were Tk 176 and Tk 166 per litre,聽respectively.
The government, on September 22, decided to increase the price of edible oils by Tk 1 per litre, following a demand by refiners to make an upward adjustment in prices by Tk 10.
The price of beef remained stable at Tk 750-800 a kilogram and mutton at Tk聽1,100-1,200 a kilogram on Friday.