Consumers started feeling the pinch with essentials prices soaring on the Ramadan eve, driven by the high profit motive of retailers.
According to Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), the retail prices have increased by 10 percent on an average from the previous year.
Vegetables, including cucumber, aubergine, green chilli and lemon, and also gram, date, lentil, onion and packed edible oil were dearer at Dhaka bazaars yesterday.
“Today I bought a kg of cucumber at Tk 35, which was Tk 30 two days ago,” said Md Ghulam Mawla, a retired banker, who was shopping at the Mirpur-11 kitchen market.
He added aubergines sold at Tk 40 a kg yesterday but at Tk 30 only a week back.
“Why should vegetable prices go up within a few days despite adequate supply?” Mawla said. “The fixed-income people find the situation too tough to survive.”
At Karwan Bazar kitchen market, retailers charged Tk 30 for every four pieces of bigger-size lemons instead of Tk 15 two days ago.
According to the Department of Agricultural Marketing, green chilli yesterday sold for Tk 60-70 a kg -- 18.18 percent higher over the previous year.
To help boost supply during the Ramadan, the government has already imposed a ban on export of green chilli, aubergine, onion and garlic until August 31.
In April-June of just concluded fiscal year, gram imports stood at 58,130 tonnes, up from 39,081 tonnes of the same period last year, according to Chittagong customs data.
The latest imports reflect a surplus compared to the demand for gram estimated at 50,000 tonnes during the month of Ramadan, according to Bangladesh Tariff Commission, which monitors the essentials prices on behalf of the government.
Gram, a key item for iftar, was selling at Tk 100-120 a kg at the city's retail markets yesterday; it is nearly 50 percent higher than the wholesale prices.
“Today we are selling gram at Tk 78-79 each kg at wholesale market,” said Shafi Mahmud, president of Bangladesh Pulses Traders Association. “So, there is no reason to sell gram at 50 percent profit margin.”
Wholesalers at Karwan Bazar were selling cucumber at Tk 20 each kilogram yesterday, but retailers increased the price to up to Tk 40 at different markets.
Traders cited a number of reasons -- higher transport costs, extortion by law enforcement agencies and ruling party men and shop rent hike -- behind such a higher price gap between retail and wholesale markets in the capital.
The lentil price also rose by 22.70 percent to Tk 112-115 a kg over the previous year, according to TCB data.
Date, another iftar item, is trading at Tk 300; the price was Tk 250 last year.
However, the prices of some vegetables and spices such as potato, onion and garlic remained stable yesterday.
Despite a rise in supplies, sugar price also spiralled yesterday. At retail shops, it was between Tk 55 and Tk 56 a kg or 5.71 percent higher compared to the previous month.
To keep the sugar price stable during the Ramadan, the government slashed it by Tk 5 per kg on Wednesday. The state-run Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation was selling each kg of sugar at Tk 55 instead of Tk 60 on retail.
The price of loose cooking oil remained unchanged but that of packed cooking oil rose in the last few days. For a 5-litre can of edible oil, retailers charged Tk 670-680, which was Tk 650-660 a week ago.
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