Heavy rain and flooding in parts of the country have unsettled prices in Dhaka’s kitchen markets. Beef prices held steady this week, but fish, eggs, onions, green chili and most vegetables are now selling at around 100 taka, with low- and middle-income buyers hit hardest. The picture emerged from visits to several Dhaka markets on Friday.
Sellers said continuous rain and flooding had disrupted the supply of farm produce and fish, while higher wholesale prices had passed through to retail. Rising transport costs and lower production in many areas had pushed up chili, onion, fish, egg and vegetable prices together, they said.
Most fish prices rose 20 to 30 taka a kg over the week: pangas at 230 taka, tilapia 260, rui 300-450, pabda 350-400, shrimp 800-900, tengra 700, koi 700-800 and shol 700. Anwar Hossain, a fish seller at Dhupkhola market, said sea fish were dearer, with hilsa at 1,600-3,200 taka depending on size and quality, rupchanda 1,200-1,300, red coral 1,000-1,200, tuna 850-1,000 and sea surma 700, with some variation by market.
Green chili rose again to 400 taka a kg, up about 100 taka in a week. Lal Mia, a vegetable seller at Narinda market, said he had sold green chili at 280-300 taka last week but now had to charge 400 taka as wholesale prices were much higher and rain had submerged most vegetable fields, cutting supply.
Onions also climbed, with local onions selling at 55-65 taka against 40-45 taka a week or two ago. Enamul Haque, a seller at Raisaheb Bazar, said wholesale onion prices had jumped suddenly.
Most vegetables sold near 100 taka: long brinjal 120-150, round brinjal 180, white brinjal 140, bitter gourd 120-140, yardlong bean 110-130, snake gourd 90-100 and taro 80-100, though sponge gourd and pointed gourd eased to 60-80 taka. Farm eggs rose to 145-155 taka a dozen from 135-140 a week earlier, while broiler chicken at 180-190 taka and sonali at 330-340 taka a kg stayed relatively stable. Beef was unchanged at 750-800 taka a kg and mutton at 1,100-1,200.
Buyers said rain, floods and supply shortages were pushing essentials higher by the day. Rickshaw-puller Jahangir Alam said a large share of his daily earnings now went to the market: “I used to buy fish once or twice a week; now I struggle even buying eggs and vegetables. When something as basic as green chili is 400 taka a kg, it is very hard for people like us.” Nasrin Akhter, a shopper at Dhupkhola, said chili, eggs, onions and vegetables had all risen together, forcing her to recalculate her budget daily.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report