Most veggies become dearer

Despite the government’s efforts to keep rates stable, most vegetables, notably eggplants and beans, went up in price in the capitals’ kitchen markets on Friday, putting more pressure on customers’ wallets during Ramadan.

Upon a recent visit to several kitchen markets including the ones in Mohakhali, Mirpur, Karwan Bazar, and Mohammadpur, The Business Post found that eggplants were being sold at Tk 100-105 per kg, up from the pre-Ramadan price of Tk 25-35 per kg.

Green beans, on the other hand, were selling for Tk 100-110 per kg, up from Tk 60-70 per kg last week.

Vegetable traders said that the price of eggplants used to make Beguni (deep-fried eggplants), a popular Bangladeshi Iftar item, increased with demand rising during Ramadan.

Meanwhile, prices of most other vegetables further witnessed a Tk 5-10 per kg hike this week, according to traders and consumers.

Bottle Gourd was being sold at Tk 60-70 per kg, depending on their size, up from last week’s price of Tk 50-55.

However, prices of cucumbers which had almost doubled just after the beginning of Ramadan, have come down and were being sold at Tk 60-70 per kg, down from last week’s price of Tk 100 per kg.

Traders said the demand for cucumber rises a fair bit during Ramadan, pushing up prices.

Besides, onion prices have remained stable. Each kg of the local seasonal variety went for Tk 30-40 in the kitchen markets.

Tomato was being sold for Tk 25-30 per kg, lemons for Tk 20-25 per four pieces, potato for Tk 15-20 per kg, green papaya for Tk 40-50 per kg.

The price of broiler chicken also remained stable and was being sold for Tk 157-165 per kg. Local chicken prices also fell to Tk 500 per kg, down from last week’s Tk 520 per kg.

Mutton prices marked a rise and were being sold at Tk 950 per kg, up from Tk 900 per kg in the previous week.

Beef prices have shot up as well in the city’s markets and were being sold for Tk 700 per kg compared to Tk 630-650 per kg last week.