Prices, demand for Ramadan essentials dropping in Khatunganj
The prices of goods in short supply such as, gram, lentils, edible oil and some other products, including sugar, remain stable
With Ramadan coming to an end, the prices of some essential commodities in Chattogram's Khatunganj, the largest wholesale market for consumer commodity goods in the country, have been going down, following a decline in demand since last week.
According to traders, Ramadan consumer commodities that are high in supply have come down in price. However, prices have somehow remained steady for commodities in short supply such as, gram, lentils, edible oil and some other products, including sugar.
Ashutosh Dey, a pulse trader in Khatunganj, said the supply of gram, edible oil and sugar was low in the market with declining demand. As a result, the prices of these products have remained stable although edible oil and sugar prices are a bit higher than before.
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In Khatunganj, the price of moong dal has come down to Tk30-45 per kg in the last two weeks and is retailing for Tk75-95 per kg at present, which was sold at Tk120-125 at the beginning of Ramadan.
Khesari pulses were sold at Tk70-75 per kg at the beginning of Ramadan. The same quality pulse is being sold at Tk52-53 per kg, down by Tk20 per kg.
At present, the wholesale price per kg for peas is Tk36, which sold for over Tk40 at the beginning of Ramadan. So, the price has come down by Tk4 per kg in the last two weeks.
At the beginning of the fasting month, each sack of flattened rice (50 kg) sold for Tk2,500-2,600, which has dropped by Tk700 per kg to Tk1,850-1,870 in Khatunganj at present.
Although the price of coconut has increased a bit in the Eid market every year, this time the price has come down from a long upward trend. For the last one and a half to two months, a coconut has sold for over Tk100 in the wholesale market. At present, coconuts of the same size are Tk85 per piece, down by Tk15.
The reason for this unusual pricing of coconut, traders say is that the demand for coconut has increased significantly since the onset of the Covid-19 epidemic and extremely hot weather this summer.
Mohammad Jamal Hossain, organising secretary of the Khatunganj Trade and Industries Association, said that sales have been declining for the past one week in Khatunganj. The market is usually busy two months before Ramadan and business keeps going up till 15 Ramadan and then sales start to decrease.
