Cooking essentials' prices jump for eid
Prices of various cooking ingredients have shot up in less than a month as traders kept supplies tight to make fat profit out of the increased demand ahead of Eid-ul Azha.
Pressure on consumers' wallets, however, is likely to remain less as edible oil, sugar, and chicken sell at lower prices.
The quick surge in prices of cooking ingredients, which is as much as 40 percent in the case of imported garlic, has irked buyers.
"We are aggrieved," said General Secretary of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) Humayun Kabir Bhuyia.
"Traders have increased prices of almost all the cooking ingredients needed on the occasion of Eid-ul Azha."
"How come prices of onion and spices shot up all on a sudden," he asked. "It reflects government's failure to monitor the market closely."
Over the last three-four weeks, prices of onion, garlic, ginger and aromatic spices have increased in the city markets.
Onion prices rose by 22 percent to Tk 28-38 a kilogramme at retails from Tk 22-32 early this month, according to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB).
Two wholesalers at the capital's Shyambazar blamed reduced supply of Indian onion through import for its price spike.
Price of one kilogramme of imported garlic, which was Tk 100-110 early this month, jumped to Tk 145-150 at retails, indicating a 50 percent rise.
Ginger was traded at Tk 60-90 a kg at retails in the city markets from Tk 50-80 a month ago, according to TCB.
A wholesaler at Shyambazar, Narayan Chandra Saha, however, said prices of onion, garlic and ginger slipped in the last couple of days at the wholesale market amid low turnout of buyers and increased supply.
Apart from these cooking ingredients, prices of cardamom, whole cloves and cinnamon also have leapt upward in the last one and half months.
A retailer at Wari, Shafiqur Rahman, said he sold cardamom at Tk 2,800 a kg this week, while its price was Tk 2,400 each kg a month ago.
Prices of whole cloves soared to Tk 3,200 a kg from Tk 2,600 one and a half months ago, he added.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments