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Prices of key essentials items, including rice, pulses, sugar, egg and potato soared notably last week which the market observers and traders attributed to a panic-buying by the city-dwellers, triggered by fears of coronavirus spread.
They said, more customers than usual rushed to kitchen markets and shops and were buying more goods than normal.
In fear of further spread of novel coronavirus in Bangladesh amid a global pandemic, many city-dwellers were making food stockpiles at their homes concerned to any possible lockdown amid the viral infection that already killed one in the country.
Prices of staple rice increased by Tk 3.0-6.0 per kilogram (kg) at retail depending on varieties.
Finer quality miniket, najirshail and jeerashail were sold at Tk 60-68 per kg on Thursday, the last working day of the week.
Medium quality Brridhan-28, paijam and lata were traded at Tk 52-56 a kg while coarse variety swarna and BR-11 at Tk 40- 42 a kg on the day.
Raqibul Alam, a grocer at Zakir Hossain Road at Mohammadpur, told the FE that people who have purchasing capacity are now busy stocking rice, pulses, potato, flour, onion, other cooking ingredients, dry food and sanitary items to prepare for any bad situation which may arise out of the virus outbreak.
Acknowledging that both wholesalers and retailers were charging additional prices for the items, he said there was a huge stock of the products in the city wholesale markets.
Haji Mohammad Asadullah, a Babubazar-based trader, said millers have also increased prices of the items by Tk 1.5-2.0 per kg in the last three days amid rising demand in Dhaka, Chattogram and other big cities.
"Millers in Kushtia and Rangpur district supplied the best quality miniket at Tk 2,750-2,780 for a 50-kg sack on Wednesday which was Tk 1,600 a few days back.
He said retailers in Dhaka also want to make more profits now which is hitting the consumers, especially the common people.
Asadullah said they were selling best quality miniket at Tk 53-54 a kg which were retailing at Tk 60-65 a kg by the grocers and chain-shops.
Potato prices rose by Tk 5.0 per kg and the essential item was sold at Tk 25 (cardinal, diamond) and Tk 35 (local or carriage) a kg.
Sugar prices increased to Tk 70-75 per kg from Tk 68-72 a kg.
Egg prices jumped to Tk 108- 110 per dozen on Thursday which was Tk 90-96 a dozen a week back.
Coarse lentil was traded at Tk 80-90 per kg and finer quality lentil at Tk 120-145 a kg on the day-Tk 10- 20 hike in a week.
Amid a significant cost hike of hand sanitisers of all brands, this correspondent noticed a price hike of baby diapers too.
In many places of the city, there was also supply shortage of sanitisers, baby diapers, dry foods, oral saline and other necessary items.