Kitchen essentials now costlier

The prices of daily commodities — especially eggs, chicken and vegetables — are skyrocketing in the kitchen markets in and around Dhaka city yet again, as a result of the increased transportation costs due to the fuel price hikes and rising inflation.

On Thursday, broiler chicken was being sold at Tk 200 per kg — a Tk 40 rise from last week’s Tk 160-165.

The price hike came as a major shock to Ashfikur Rahman, who works as a peon at a private company, when he went to the Sabujbagh kitchen market to do some shopping on Friday morning.

Talking to The Business Post, he said, “Broiler is the alternative to beef for lower-middle-class people like us when we need to host some guests on the weekend. But if this goes out of our reach after beef, what will we eat?”

“My salary is not increasing but the prices of daily commodities are climbing every day. I don’t know how will I manage and coordinate the additional expenses of my family of four,” said an upset and worried Ashfikur.

At the same time, the price of eggs, the key protein source for commoners, has also gone up to Tk 140-145 per dozen over the past week. It was Tk 125-130 last week.

Private university student Sharid Fardous, who shares a flat at Banasree with several friends, said eggs, chicken and rice are three main low-cost foods for bachelors like them living on a tight budget. “But the prices of all three things have increased in a week. It has become more difficult for us to survive with the little money we either earn or get as allowances from our families.”

Consumers at various kitchen markets, including the ones at Sabujbagh, Rampura and Karwan Bazar, around the capital also expressed the same concern while talking to this correspondent on Friday.

Mohammad Masum, a broiler chicken seller in the Sabujbagh area, said the price has been rising the last few days. “If it continues, broiler may become costlier in a few days, like Tk 250 per kg.”

Another trader, Jamal Uddin said the price of Pakistani chicken or Sonali chicken has also gone up along with broilers. On Friday, Sonali cost Tk 300-320 per kg, up from last week’s Tk 280-300.

Vegetables become dearer

Apart from chickens and eggs, most of the vegetables in the kitchen markets have become costlier by at least Tk 10 per kg in a week.

The price of green chilli touched Tk 250 per kg at the Karwan Bazar market on Friday while per kg cucumber was sold at Tk 60-70 per kg.

Here, one kilogram of eggplant was sold at Tk 90-100, tomato at Tk 120-130 per kg, bitter gourd at Tk 70 per piece, pumpkin at Tk 70 per piece, gourd at Tk 70, per kg of sweet pumpkin at Tk 50, snake gourd at Tk 60 per kg, pointed gourd Tk 60 per kg, okra at Tk 70 per kg, arum stem at Tk 80 per kg, papaya at Tk 50 per kg, long bean at Tk 80 per kg, ridge gourd at Tk 60 per kg and per piece green banana was sold at Tk 10.

The prices were similar at the other kitchen markets around the city.

Talking to The Business Post, traders said the fuel price hike has had the biggest impact on the prices of these consumer goods.

Wholesalers are charging higher prices citing rising transport costs, which has forced the retailers to sell these goods at increased prices, they said.