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Prices of essential commodities, including spice, vegetable, potato, sugar, fish and pulses, have witnessed a significant increase in the last one month, exacerbating consumer hardships.
During this period, the price of onion saw a staggering 100-per cent surge, reaching Tk 80-90 per kilogram at retail level.
Additionally, the prices of ginger and cumin seed reached all-time highs.
Various ginger varieties, including Indian, Burmese, and the local one, sold at Tk 300-340 per kilogram, and the Chinese variety at Tk 450-460.
Cumin seed retailed at Tk 950-1,000 per kilogram. Large companies were trading packet cumin powder at up to Tk 1,150 per kilogram.
Potato prices witnessed an average increase of 42 per cent with a retail price of Tk 40-45 per kilogram on Tuesday, as reported by groceries and kitchen vendors.
The government set sugar price at Tk 120-125 a kg, but sugar rose in price from Tk 130-140 before Eid-ul-Fitr to Tk 140-150 after the festival, according to trading sources.
The price of finer lentil reached Tk 140-150 per kilogram last week.
Vegetables such as pointed gourd, tomato and carrot also experienced a notable hike in prices, with carrot selling at Tk 90-110 and pointed gourd at Tk 70-90, depending on quality.
Value-chain expert Prof Dr Jahangir Alam of agribusiness and marketing department at Bangladesh Agricultural University said large traders and companies increased product prices well before the start of Ramadan.
Moreover, after Eid, prices of many essential items witnessed further rises, he added.
Apart from higher import costs, Dr Alam said, there was a sense of market manipulation contributing to abnormal price increases.
He suggested that the government facilitate the sourcing of import-dependent essentials by rationalising import duties and implementing effective regulatory measures to control this volatile market.
Agriculture minister Dr Muhammad Abdur Razzaque attributed the surge in onion prices to a syndicate.
He said Bangladesh produced more than 3.4-million tonnes of onion, and the harvest season has recently concluded, making it implausible for prices to increase by such a large margin.
A syndicate of unscrupulous traders is responsible for the surge in onion prices, he continued.
The ministry will monitor the situation for a few more days before making a decision on onion imports, according to Dr Razzaque.
Commerce minister also recently acknowledged that onion and sugar markets went beyond the government's control.
Nazer Hossain, vice-president of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB), stressed the need for immediate action from the commerce minister and other relevant ministries against wrongdoers.
He stated that the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission recently sent a letter to commerce ministry, highlighting the active involvement of refiners in manipulating the sugar market.
Strict actions should be taken against such manipulators as per law to restore a sense of check and balance in the market.