Prices of goods are rising sharply in markets in the capital and across the country. Vegetable prices have gone up by as much as 50 taka a kg. Continuous rain has hit the kitchen markets, and traders blame disrupted supply for the increase. With rises of 20 to 50 taka a kg, almost every vegetable is now beyond ordinary reach, and some have tripled in price.
A tour of markets in the capital showed that finding a vegetable under 100 taka is now rare. Brinjal is selling at 120 taka a kg, bitter gourd and okra at 100 to 120 taka, pointed gourd and ridge gourd at 80 to 100 taka, and cucumber at 120 to 130 taka. Tomatoes are 120 to 160 taka and bottle gourd 80 to 90 taka apiece. Carrots at 160 taka and papaya at 40 to 50 taka offer some relief, while onion has risen by 10 to 20 taka a kg to 60 taka at retail.
The biggest shock has come in green chilies. Good-quality chilies that sold for 100 to 120 taka only a month ago have doubled or tripled to 200 to 280 taka at retail. They are available for 200 taka at Karwan Bazar, but sell for 250 to 280 taka in upmarket retail areas.
M M Akash, a private-sector employee from Mohammadpur who had come to buy vegetables, said prices of essentials were rising abnormally every day on the excuse of rain. “A week ago I bought 250 grams of chilies for 40 taka; today I had to pay 60,” he said. “The price of every vegetable has hit the sky. It has become hard for middle- and low-income people to run a household this way.”
Azizur Rahman Aziz, a vegetable seller in Keraniganj Model Town, said not enough vegetables were reaching the wholesale market because of the rain. Waterlogged fields have rotted many crops and farmers cannot harvest, he said; with supply low and demand high, sellers are forced to buy at higher prices and sell at a small profit.
Agriculturist Dr. Jamal Uddin said that if the adverse weather continues, local supply chains could break down further. Traders and others hope prices may fall somewhat once the weather clears and new crops reach the market. Until then, the incessant monsoon rain will keep a long, heavy shadow of high prices over millions in the capital and around it.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report