The price of green chillies declined on the capital鈥檚 kitchen markets owing to an increase in supply, though prices of most other daily essentials remained unchanged.
On Friday, green chillies were sold at Tk 160-170 a kilogram on wholesale markets and Tk 180-220 a kilogram on neighbourhood markets and vendor shops in the capital.
Traders from Kalyanpur Natun Bazar, Agargaon Taltala Bazar and Karwan Bazar wholesale market said that the price of the spice came down due to an increase in supply.
The price of the spice item reached around Tk 300-400 a kilogram last week due to a supply shortage, as trading activities at land ports were suspended for Durga Puja festival, which resumed on October 4.
Md Bulbul, a wholesale green chilli trader from Karwan Bazar, told 抖阴精品 that as trading activities resumed at land ports, imports from India returned to normal, increasing the supply on the markets.
Green chilli prices increased a few months ago because the item spoiled largely due to consecutive heavy rainfall across the country.
The country is now fully dependent on imported green chillies, which might continue until freshly harvested ones arrive on the markets.聽
Due to the prolonged rainy season and the ongoing lean season for vegetables, prices of almost all vegetables have remained unchanged at high levels over the past three months.
On Friday, spiny gourd was sold at Tk 100 a kilogram, a hike from the past week鈥檚 Tk 80, while pointed gourds were sold at Tk 60 a kilogram and okra was Tk 70-80 a kilogram.
The price of yardlong beans remained unchanged, sold at Tk 100-120 a kilogram, while bitter gourds were sold at Tk 80-100 a kilogram.聽
Aubergine was sold at Tk 100-120 a kilogram, cucumbers at Tk 60-80 a kilogram and tomatoes at Tk 120-140 a kilogram on Friday.聽
Red chillies were sold for Tk 350-500 a kilogram, depending on the variant.
Potatoes were sold for Tk 20-25 a kilogram, papaya for Tk 30, taro runner for Tk 50-60 and taro stem for Tk 40-50 a kilogram.
Bottle gourds were sold at Tk 40-60 apiece, based on the variant.
Local garlic variant was sold for Tk 100-130 a kilogram, while its imported variant was sold for Tk 200 a kilogram. Meanwhile, ginger was sold at Tk 130 a 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.
Traders said that due to excessive rain throughout the seasons and a number of deep depressions over the Bay of Bengal, vegetables got spoiled, even on high land.
The persistent high prices have left consumers struggling over the past few months.
Moazzem Hossain, a consumer from Kallyanpur, said that almost every vegetable now cost between Tk 80 and Tk 100 a kilogram, a trend that had persisted for more than four months.聽
鈥楥onsumers like us can no longer afford to purchase as we used to. I used to buy one kilogram of vegetables; now, due to high prices, I can only buy half a kilogram, or even 250 grams,鈥� he added, blaming poor market monitoring by the authorities.
Regarding the prices of 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 remained damp or waterlogged.
鈥楾he farmers could not even collect the vegetables on high land due to rain, as the soil was damp, while the vegetables on low land spoiled entirely,鈥� he added.
Moreover, the country鈥檚 agriculture is currently in the lean season, and prices will go down when the peak season starts, he added.
The price of eggs remained unchanged at Tk 130-135 per dozen, while the prices of broiler chicken were also unchanged at Tk 170-180 a kilogram.
Onions were sold at Tk 70-80 a kilogram on Friday, packaged atta was sold at Tk 65-70 a kilogram and unpackaged atta was sold at Tk 52 a 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
On Friday, the price of Miniket rice ranged from Tk 75 to Tk聽84 a kilogram, depending on the variant, while Paijam or Athash was sold at Tk 60-70 a kilogram and the coarse variant at Tk 55-60 a聽kilogram.
Rice prices, meanwhile, are expected to decrease this month, 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 a litre聽respectively.
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.