C T Online Desk: Some essential commodities have become more costly on the city market ahead of Ramadan, the fasting month for the Muslims, beginning this week.
Besides, despite various government initiatives to keep the prices of essentials stable, many such items, including atta, red lentil, sugar, beef and edible oil, are still selling at high prices in the capital city.
The prices of vegetables have remained somewhat stable, but those of aubergine, cucumber and lemons have almost doubled as usual prior to Ramadan.
The price of aubergine shot up to Tk 100 a kilogram while cucumber sold for Tk 70–80 a kg and lemons for Tk 60–70 a hali (four pieces) on the city market on Friday.
Consumers, particularly poor and limited-income people, have expressed their frustration at the uncontrolled prices of essentials as they will have to spend more on their necessities this Ramadan than a year ago.
According to state-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh, the prices of essentials, including atta, edible oil, sugar and red lentil, have gone up by 12–44 per cent in one year.
The TCB statistics show that the prices of red lentil, unpackaged soya bean oil, palm oil and chicken witnessed a further rise in the city on Friday.
Red lentil has become costlier by up to Tk 44.44 per cent over the year.
On Friday, the coarse variety of red lentil sold for Tk 95–100 a kg and the medium-quality variety for Tk 110–115.
The fine variety sold for Tk 120–130.
The price of unpackaged soya bean oil saw a Tk 1 increase a litre and it sold for Tk 145-154 a litre on the day.
Palm oil has become Tk 5 costlier a litre over the week and sold for Tk 131–143 a litre on Friday, the TCB report said.
According to the TCB data, edible oils are still selling at higher prices than the rates set by the government on March 20.
In a bid to ease the price spiral of edible oils, the National Board of Revenue on March 16 waived 10 per cent value added tax on the imports of refined and non-refined soya bean and palm oils and the oilseeds.
Earlier, the board waived 15 per cent VAT on the crushing of both the oilseeds by refineries and 5 per cent VAT at the trading level.
Following the withdrawal of the VAT on the import of the edible oils, the commerce ministry has lowered the packaged soya bean oil price to Tk 160 a litre from Tk 168 and the unpackaged item price to Tk 136 a litre.
It has cut the palm oil price to Tk 130 a litre from Tk 133.
The government data also show that a one-litre bottle of soya bean oil sold for Tk 158–165 in the city on Friday.
It shows that the soya bean oil price has soared by 42.5 per cent and the palm oil price by 28.64 per cent in one year.
‘The government has taken some measures to contain the price hike of essential commodities on the local market but the prices are still high,’ Consumers Association of Bangladesh president Ghulam Rahman told New Age on Monday.
The government, he iterated, will have to ensure a strict market monitoring so that traders cannot raise the prices unreasonably.
Ghulam Rahman also urged the government to stop extortion from commodity trucks on roads and highways.
Officials of the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection said that its market control drive was going on.
‘Today, our teams have realised Tk 1.30 lakh fines from seven traders at Karwan Bazar and Mohammadpur Krishi Bazar for some irregularities, including selling edible oils at higher than stipulated prices,’ said a DNCRP official.
According to the government data, the price of atta has increased by up to 25 per cent in a year, with the packaged item selling for Tk 40–45 a kg and the unpackaged item for Tk 35–36 a kg in the city on Friday.
Along with beef and mutton, chicken, too, became pricier on the city market on Friday.
The price of broiler chicken went up by Tk 10 a kg and the item sold for Tk 170–175 a kg on the day.
The Sonalika variety of chicken sold for Tk 270–280 a kg and the local variety for Tk 500–550 on the day.
Beef sold for Tk 650–700 a kg and mutton for Tk 850–950 in the city on Friday.
‘It is a tradition in Bangladesh that traders will increase the prices of essentials ahead of Ramadan, but this year the rates of increases are much higher compared with the previous years,’ said Nur Mohammad, a security guard at an NGO in the city.
‘We will have to eat less during Ramadan this year due to the further price hike as we are still struggling to cope with the income loss during the pandemic,’ he said.
The prices of fish, too, have gone higher on the market over the week.
Rohit sold for Tk 280–400 a kg and Katla for Tk 280–380, depending on size and variety.
Pangas sold for Tk 160–190 a kg and Tilapia for Tk 150–160 on the day.
Fine-quality packaged salt retailed at Tk 32–35 a kg and the non-refined variety at Tk 20–25 on the day.
The prices of ginger, however, remained unchanged over the week. The imported variety sold for Tk 140–160 a kg and the local variety for Tk 80–120 on Friday.
The price of eggs also remained unchanged over the week and the item sold for Tk 36–38 a hali (four pieces) in the city on Friday.
Only the price of onions has gone down by Tk 10 a kg over the week.
The local variety of onions sold for Tk 30–40 a kg and the imported variety for Tk 30–38 on Friday.
The prices of vegetables remained somewhat stable.
Vegetables sold for Tk 70– 100 a kg in the city on Friday.
