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A few days remain before the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. As that time edges closer, the hustle and bustle at markets selling dates – one of the staples of many Iftar tables – has reached a new level as buyers and sellers haggle over prices. On Saturday afternoon, crowds were seen at the kitchen market in Dhaka’s Karwan Bazar, as well as the temporary stalls set up to sell dates.
The extended break for the 13th parliamentary elections and referendum saw many people residing in Dhaka go to their home villages for the vote. Many have already returned to the capital, some are still in the process of returning.
Stalls at the market display a variety of dates of different names, flavours and sizes. Keen buyers are inquiring about names and prices.
Sellers say that the price of dates this year is similar to last year. However, buyers say that the price of dates is higher.
Akash Rahman, a private sector worker who came to buy dates at Karwan Bazar, told bdnews24.com: “The price of dates is high. I bought a kilogram of fairly good dates for Tk 600. The seller had asked for Tk 700. I bought it down by haggling.
“Since you need dates for Ramadan, it would have been better if the price was a little lower.”
According to information provided by vendors at Karwan Bazar, dates are available in the market at prices ranging from Tk 250 to Tk 1,800 per kg, depending on quality.
In the retail market, one kg of Mabroom dates is selling for Tk 400-450, Dabbas dates for Tk 400, Sukkaru (normal quality) dates for Tk 250-300, medium quality Amber dates for Tk 700-1,600, “Kamaranga” dates for Tk 650, Maryam dates for Tk 500-1,000, and good quality Medjool and Ajwa dates are selling for Tk 1,200-1,500.
The demand for dates in Bangladesh is met entirely through imports, with 80 percent of them coming from the Middle East and some Asian countries. Of these, dates from Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Egypt and Indonesia can be found in domestic markets. They also come from Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
Traders say that there is a high demand for Medjool, Ajwa, Amber, Mabroom, plum and Sukkari dates from Saudi Arabia. The demand for Maryam dates from Jordan, Iran and Egypt is also strong.
And almost all of the “Zahidi” and “Dabbas” varieties of dates, which are preferred by low-income people, come from Iraq.
According to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) market prices, the lowest price per kg of normal quality dates in the market is Tk 180-550 per kg. The TCB says that the price of dates is the same as it was a week ago.
According to TCB data, the price of normal quality dates in the market at the same time last year was Tk 260-Tk 520 per kg. This means the price of dates has gone down by 6.41 percent since last year.
However, the traders at Karwan Bazar are charging slightly higher than TCB rates.
A seller at the Allahr Dan Fal Bitan store told bdnews24.com, "Sales of dates have increased now that Ramadan is nearing. After things were closed for a few days, many people are coming to buy dates today after shops reopened. So, the market is a little intense.”
The Bikrampur Fruit Market, adjacent to the gate of the Kitchen Market, was quite crowded.
Ishaq Sarkar, a government employee who came to the area to buy dates, told bdnews24.com” “The price of dates is a little high now. There is good supply in the market. The price of dates is high mainly because they have to be imported. I hope that the price will gradually come down if market supervision increases.”
On Jan 25, the task force on monitoring and reviewing commodity prices and the market situation met at the Ministry of Commerce and presented a report highlighting the changes in prices in the past one month and one year.
According to the report, in December last year, the price of dates in the domestic market decreased by 2.67 percent and was down to Tk 180-Tk 550 per kg depending on the quality. The report did not include any information about the price of dates in the international market.
After the meeting, Commerce Advisor Sheikh Bashir Uddin, said, “In the task force meeting, traders assured us that the supply of daily necessities would be normal during Ramadan. Prices of commodities will be under control during the upcoming Ramadan.
“Prices will not increase, but instead the prices of some products will decrease further. The prices of daily necessities will remain within the budgets of the people during this Ramadan.”