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Eid-ul-Azha is still around a month away, but the prices of spices such as onion, garlic, ginger, and chilli have already gone up. Market analysis shows that the rate of some items even increased by over 200 per cent.
Apart from this, the prices of eggs, broiler chickens and vegetables have also increased in the last one or two weeks.
According to the market price reports of different government agencies, egg prices have increased by 24 per cent and vegetable prices by up to 50 per cent in the last one month.
As the prices of almost all kinds of essential products including meat, eggs, and vegetables are increasing, low- and middle-income people, already in trouble over covering the cost of living, are under new pressure.
On Thursday, in the city's different kitchen markets such as Shantinagar, Segunbagicha and Maniknagar, the price of rice did not decrease even in the full season of Boro. On the contrary, the price of some varieties of rice has gone up.
Fine variety of rice was sold for the previous week's price of Tk 60 – Tk 76 per kg in retail on Thursday. Medium quality rice was sold for Tk 52 – Tk 58 per kg, while coarse rice was selling for Tk 48 – Tk 52 per kg.
According to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) data, on Thursday, rice was being sold at a price of up to 5 per cent higher compared to the same period last year.
However, the increase in the price of spices before Eid-ul-Azha has worried the buyers more than the rice price hikes. In the last two weeks, the price of green chillies has risen to over Tk 200 per kg, which was Tk 80 per kg.
According to the Department of Agriculture Marketing (DAM) data, the price of green chillies has increased by 233 per cent in the last month.
Apart from this, the price of onion has increased by 16 per cent and is being sold at Tk 70 – Tk 80 per kg, up from Tk 60 – Tk 65 per kg. The price of garlic has increased by 37 per cent, it is being sold at Tk 200 – Tk 240 per kg, which was Tk 140 – Tk 180 per kg.
The price of imported ginger in the kitchen markets of the capital has increased by 11 per cent, it is selling at Tk 240 – Tk 280 a kg, which was Tk 210 – Tk 260 a kg last month. The price of peppers has increased by 3 per cent, and is being sold at Tk 320 – Tk 380 per kg.
Among the protein food items, the low-income people are in trouble due to the abnormal increase in the price of farm chicken eggs. The price of eggs increased by Tk 30 – Tk 35 per dozen within one month.
DAM data say the price of farm chicken eggs has increased by 25 per cent in the last one month. In addition, broiler chickens were sold at a low price of Tk 200 for some weeks but increased to Tk 220 farther in the middle of this month.
Broiler chickens were sold at Tk 210 – Tk 220 per kg in the markets on Thursday, which was available at Tk 180 two weeks ago.
On the other hand, the price of maximum vegetables is increasing before the monsoon, various vegetables including tomato, green papaya, eggplant, and sweet pumpkin are already being sold at higher prices.
Tomato prices have increased by 50 per cent; it is being sold at Tk 50 – Tk 70 per kg, which was Tk 30 – Tk 50 two weeks ago. The price of potatoes has increased by Tk5 per kg to Tk50-60 per kg.
The price of green papaya has suddenly gone up last week; it is being sold at Tk 50 – Tk 75 a kg, up from Tk 40 – Tk 50 a kg.
