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Garlic and other cooking ingredients, key spices and fish became dearer last week for variolous reasons, increasing sufferings of the consumers, especially the commoners.
Garlic, ginger, turmeric, red chilli powder, and coriander seed witnessed a spike in the week, according to market sources, including traders and buyers.
Traders attributed the soaring prices of garlic and ginger at wholesale markets due to increasing import costs triggered by a decline of import of the items from China amid a coronavirus outbreak in the country, one of the main producers of the spices.
"Rising import costs and decline in import from China have caused a surge in the prices of ginger and garlic," Md Shaidul Islam, Shyambazar-based trader said.
The state-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) recorded 4.0 per cent to 27 per cent surge in prices of different spices in the last seven days, ending on Thursday.
Traders and consumers said garlic and ginger prices witnessed a Tk 20-40 hike per kilogram as garlic, both local and imported varieties, was selling at Tk 170-220 a kg based on quality while ginger at Tk 150-180 in the city markets on Thursday.
Turmeric powder (loose) prices showed a Tk 30-40 surge as the cooking spice was sold at Tk 240-270 a kg on the day depending on both quality of the item and location of the market.
Prise of red chilli powder, which had already become considerably costlier, further increased by Tk 20-30 a kg as the essential spice was sold at Tk 380-420 on the day.
Coriander seed prices increased to Tk 140-165 per kg from Tk 125-150 a kg.
Prices of onion, one of the main cooking ingredients, however, showed a slight decline but yet it was selling nearly at its previous high of Tk 120-140 (local).
Echoeing business people in other markets, traders at the biggest spice wholesale market in the capital ---Shyambazar--- said costs of garlic and ginger have been showing a hike amid a surge in import costs.
Shyambazar's businessman Shaidul Islam said that apart from onion, a big volume of ginger, garlic, coriander seed, red chilli, turmeric are imported from India.
"Persisting high prices of spices in India is also resulting in surge in Bangladeshi spice prices," he added.
Prices of river fish witnessed a further hike last week, by Tk 50-150 per kg.
Hilsha, a popular and delicious local fish, was sold at Tk 750-1,450 a kg based on sizes and quality. Indigenous rui and katla was selling at Tk 480-650 per kg based on their sizes while shrimp and pabda were selling at Tk 550-950 and Tk 500-650 per kg respectively in the kitchen markets on the day.