Green chilli is being sold for Tk 1,000 per kg in Chattogram at the retail level, and for Tk 800 at the wholesale level. The price of most other vegetables in the port city markets have skyrocketed as well.
All the stalls of Riazuddin Bazar are lying empty. The supply of green chillies and other vegetables is at rock bottom due to flooding of roads and highways, and suspension of train services. The ongoing flood situation has severely affected the kitchen markets.
A number of vegetable vendors said the floods, and the resulting transportation crisis are responsible for this increase in prices, triggered by a lack of supply.
Buyers are complaining that the market has spiraled out of control, adding that they have never seen the prices of green chillies rise so much. Moreover, almost all vegetables are priced above Tk 100, putting the low income people in serious trouble.
Most of the supply of vegetables and green chillies to the port city comes from Bogura, Faridpur, Jamalpur and different districts in the north.
However, the Dhaka-Chattogram highway remains closed for 3 days due to the sudden floods. Hundreds of trucks are stuck on highways. Moreover, the transportation of goods from different upazilas of Chattogram has also been disrupted due to the disaster.
