Daily essential prices still high in Dhaka markets

Despite a slight fall, the price of almost all essential commodities, including vegetables and meat, remained high in the capital's kitchen markets on Friday.

The price of most vegetables has gone down an average of Tk5 per kg, a week into Ramadan, but they still cost Tk50 or above per kilo.

Visiting the city's Karwan Bazar kitchen market firsthand, The Business Standard (TBS) found eggplant and green pepper chili selling for Tk100 per kg, and a dozen lemons was going for Tk80-100 with demand running high.

Mohammad Shamsul Huq, a vegetable vendor in Karwan Bazar, said, "The need for common vegetables is relatively low in Ramadan and hence the price drop of Tk5 per kg on average."

Some vegetables like pointed gourd, snake gourd, and okra are selling for Tk50, while bitter gourd is selling for Tk80 now, he said.

The meat market also saw a minor drop in price over the week. Beef is now selling for Tk650 per kg, down from the previous Tk700. However, the price of mutton remains unchanged at Tk950 per kg.

Chicken trader Afzal Hossain said the price of broiler chickens fell somewhat to Tk160 per kg, down Tk10, due to low demand. 

Mohammad Mohiuddin, a customer in Karwan Bazar, told TBS, "Prices of all essentials went up ahead of Ramadan. Now lowering the prices of some items it is being claimed the market has become stable, while in reality prices are still high."

Mohiuddin, an employee of a private company, said, "Local free range chicken costs Tk600 per kg, the Pakistani cock variety costs Tk300, and beef costs Tk650. These are beyond the purchasing power of mine and many others. We are barely meeting nutritional needs eating farm raised chickens."

However, the low price of onion and potato is a relief for customers. Potatoes are selling for Tk20 per kg and onions are Tk28 a kilogram.

Another customer, Yunus Ali, said only the price of onions and potatoes has gone down while  other produce has gone up in price.

Soybean oil has been stable in price for a week due to the government's market monitoring and VAT cuts. A 5-liter bottle of edible oil is Tk750.

Amir Hossain, a salesman at Yasin General Store, said sales are lower than they were in the beginning of Ramadan. The price of gram has gone down Tk5 per kg as demand fell.

Gram is Tk70 per kg, loose sugar is Tk80 a kilo and packaged sugar is Tk85. Gram flour (besan) is Tk130 per kg.

The chinese variety of garlic is selling for Tk110 per kg, while the local variety is Tk60, and ginger is Tk80 per kg at the Karwan Bazar kitchen market.