Asian rice trade paused on Friday to digest the previous day's ban by India, by far the world's biggest supplier, of a major share of its exports of the staple, with prices expected to climb substantially in coming days, three traders said.

Vegetable prices have been rising at the capital’s kitchen markets for about a month, making it even harder for low-income people to afford a balanced diet.

Several wholesalers and individual businessmen in Manikganj, Faridpur, Pabna and Narayanganj were fined yesterday for selling green chillies at inflated prices.

The commerce minister’s recent admission that stern measures against market manipulators could create a sudden crisis has exposed the helplessness and lack of political will of the government, said three top economists and a consumers' body. 

Though the people are reeling from the price hike of essentials, the government agencies concerned could not reign in the prices ahead of the Eid, said Consumers Association of Bangladesh.

Hours after a meeting with the commerce ministry, Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners’ and Vanaspati Manufacturers’ Association yesterday reduced the price of soybean oil by Tk 10 per litre.

State-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh will start selling sugar from today to the family card holders for Tk 70 a kg, a rise by 16 percent or Tk 10 from the previous price.

State Minister for Industries Kamal Ahmed Majumder yesterday said ministers concerned should quit if they can’t break up syndicates controlling the economy and essentials’ market.

The government on Monday approved the refiners’ proposal for rising the retail price of sugar by Tk 16 a kg in accordance with the price hike in the international market.

When people are already struggling to cope with high prices of daily essentials, a fresh hike in the prices of soybean oil, sugar, onions, and potatoes has dealt them a further blow.

Faruk Hossain, a Begunbari resident, went to the capital’s Karwan Bazar yesterday for his monthly grocery shopping with the hope of buying all items spending the same amount of money he spent last month.

Within two weeks, the price of sugar increased by Tk 20 per kg at retail.

World Bank report shows

The Cabinet today cleared the draft of "Production, Storage, Transfer, Transportation, Supply, Distribution and Marketing of Food Products (Prevention of Prejudicial Activity) Act, 2023" keeping the provision of maximum lifetime imprisonment in the proposed law

MA Khair Chowdhury passed the Segunbagicha kitchen market disappointed.

Four major chicken producers yesterday announced that they will sell broiler chicken for Tk 190-195 a kg at the gates of their farms during Ramadan.

There are at least three laws and as many government bodies to protect the consumers from price manipulation, but it goes on unabated due to lax enforcement of the laws and a lack of coordination among the government organisations, say commodity experts.

Taking Tk 300 from her rickshaw-puller husband, Moni Begum went to Mirpur-11 kitchen market in the capital yesterday in the hope of buying some good food for her three children to eat on the first day of Ramadan.

Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Mayor Md Atiqul Islam today said they would monitor the kitchen markets strictly to keep supply of daily essentials and its prices in a stable state during the month of Ramadan.

With Ramadan less than a week away, the high prices of chicken and meat are not likely to come down anytime soon.