Flour price up Tk5 again, no sign of coming down

The price of flour, the country’s second most important staple food, increased once again by Tk 5 per kg in a matter of a week without any sign of coming down soon.

Packet atta or wheat flour sold at Tk 75 per kg on Thursday, up from Tk 70 last week, according to Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB).

TCB data shows that packet atta prices increased an alarming 71 per cent from Tk 42 per kg a year ago.

The rise has put low-wage earners at further risk as they grapple to cope with an inflated commodity market that is showing little sign of softening.

The upward trend in flour prices have remained seemingly unstoppable for the last few months, traders said, adding that flour prices jumped three times over the last month.

Traders at Mohammadpur Krishi Market said prices of two kg packet flour have soared by Tk 10 to Tk 150 while the price of loose atta increased from Tk 60 to Tk 65 per kg.

At the beginning of this November, loose flour was sold at Tk 57-58 per kg while packet atta was Tk 65-66 on average.

Meanwhile, loose maida or refined flour sold at Tk 70-75 per kg on Thursday, while packet maida sold at Tk 75-85 per kg.

Rice, chicken prices falls slightly

Amid the onslaught of flour price increase, consumers are expecting a slight respite as  prices of rice, the main staple food of the country, began to fall this weekend ahead of the new Aman season.

Traders at Mohammadpur Krishi Market said rice of Parija and Sorna varieties sold at Tk 54-55 per kg on Thursday, down Tk 1 per kg from last week. Besides, BR11 and BR28 varieties of rice sold at Tk 57-60 per kg, which was at Tk 58-60 per kg one week ago.

However, prices of Paijam variety rice remain unchanged at Tk 56-58 per kg.

Jirashail and Miniket varieties sold at Tk 70-73 per kg, down from Tk 70-75 per kg a week ago while Nazirshile rice sold at Tk 80-82 per kg, which was at Tk 80-85 per kg last week.

Traders said new rice has begun to enter the market as produce from the Amon season is being harvested across the country. The price of rice is decreasing slightly due to increasing supply.

However, compared to last year, the price is still too high.

In the meantime, prices of some vegetables have declined by Tk5-20 per kg as winter crops begin to hit the market.

Carrot sold at Tk 80-100 per kg on Thursday, down from Tk 100-120 per kg a week ago. Bean sold at Tk 40-50 per kg,down from Tk 50-60 per kg last week. Cabbage and cauliflower prices also declined by Tk 5-10 per piece to Tk 30-50.

Prices of edible oil, sugar, lentils, fish, meat and eggs, however, remained static on previous highs last week.

Soybean oil sold at Tk 180-190 per litre while loose palm oil sold at Tk 145-155 per litre on Thursday. Loose and packet sugar sold at Tk 115-125 per kg, imported lentils sold at Tk 110-115 per kg, while local lentils sold at Tk 140-150 per kg.

Firm chicken eggs cost Tk 40-42 per hali (4 pieces) on Thursday, while duck eggs sold at Tk 65-70 per hali.

Firm chicken broilers sold at Tk 160-170 per kg, while sonali variety chicken sold at Tk 280-300 per kg.