Winter has not yet really set in across the capital, but winter vegetables have begun to arrive in its markets. Supplies of seasonal produce such as cauliflower, cabbage, flat beans, radish and tomatoes are rising at wholesale depots and markets.
Dhaka residents are keen on winter vegetables, but many cannot afford them. Low-income people in particular are priced out. Apart from papaya, pointed gourd, bottle gourd and pumpkin, it is hard to find vegetables at a lower price, so buyers are welcoming the early harvest while struggling with the higher cost. Traders say early winter vegetables are reaching wholesale and retail markets, but supply is still short of demand. It will take some time for the full winter harvest to arrive, and prices will fall when supply increases.
The early cauliflower, cabbage and radish are still fairly small. The tomatoes are not yet fully ripe either, as their pale and green tint shows. Because of demand, farmers are often picking them before they are ripe and sending them to market.
At Karwan Bazar at 1:30am on Sunday, trucks had arrived loaded with beans, cauliflower, cabbage, tomatoes and radish from Chuadanga, Kushtia, Meherpur, Jhenaidah, Jashore and other districts of Khulna division. Porters and van drivers were busy unloading. Some traders piled the vegetables in front of the depots, others spread sacks on the pavement and started selling, and some sold straight from the trucks to retailers.
Flat beans fetched the highest price, at Tk 95 to Tk 120 a kilogram wholesale. Cauliflower and cabbage sold for Tk 30 to Tk 50 each depending on size. Radish, usually one of the cheapest vegetables in the peak season, cost Tk 20 to Tk 30 a kilogram wholesale, and local tomatoes from Khulna sold for Tk 70 to Tk 120 a kilogram.
Buyers said that although winter vegetables such as beans, cauliflower and radish have reached the market, their prices are still out of line with what ordinary people can pay. Low- and middle-income families are struggling to meet their daily shopping costs, and many who want to buy their favourite vegetables have had to cut the quantity because of high prices.
Mizanur Rahman Sumon, a vegetable wholesaler at Karwan Bazar, said winter vegetables come from various districts, but at present the early crop is coming mainly from Khulna division. In other regions the vegetables are not yet ready for market, so supply is relatively low and prices are high. He expects prices to start falling in a few days as supply grows.
In the peak season, he said, unsold radish has to be thrown away, and large cauliflowers and cabbages sell for Tk 5 to Tk 10.
Another trader, Shahjahan, said wholesale prices change by the hour, and many vegetables are cheaper at dawn than at night. Beans that sold for Tk 140 a kilogram the night before fell to Tk 95 by dawn. Likewise, cauliflower and cabbage that sold for Tk 50 to Tk 60 each between 11pm and midnight fell to Tk 30 towards dawn.
Retail prices differ by area, he said. Vegetables in Gulshan and Dhanmondi cost more than in Mohakhali or Shyamoli, and buyers can save a little by buying from van sellers, so it is hard to give one retail price.
In retail markets across the capital on Monday, pointed gourd sold for Tk 60 to Tk 100 a kilogram, snake gourd Tk 60 to Tk 80, ridge gourd Tk 70 to Tk 100, aubergine Tk 80 to Tk 140, bitter gourd Tk 80 to Tk 120, spiny gourd Tk 80 to Tk 100, okra Tk 60 to Tk 80, tomatoes Tk 160 to Tk 180, flat beans Tk 150 to Tk 200, pumpkin Tk 60, yardlong beans Tk 80 to Tk 100, green chillies Tk 120 to Tk 160, cucumber Tk 70 to Tk 80, papaya Tk 20 to Tk 25, taro Tk 50 to Tk 60 and elephant foot yam Tk 40 to Tk 50. Cauliflower and cabbage sold for Tk 60 to Tk 80 each, green bananas Tk 30 to Tk 40 for four, Malabar spinach Tk 40 to Tk 50 a bunch, red amaranth Tk 20 to Tk 30, bottle gourd Tk 50 to Tk 70 each and radish Tk 50 to Tk 80 a kilogram.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report