Vegetable prices keep rising

Vegetable prices have continued to climb over the last week, while prices of chickens, eggs, onions, lentils, and flour have also become costlier.

Market insiders warn that potato prices may soon go up as the government has fixed the cold storage gate price of potatoes at Tk 22 a kg.

Vegetables that are already selling at high prices saw another jump. Brinjal is now selling at Tk 110-140 a kg, bitter gourd at Tk 90-100, colocasia stems at Tk 80-100, ladies' fingers at Tk 80-90, eddo at Tk 90-110, and ridge gourd and sponge gourd at Tk 90-100, leafy vegetables at Tk 20-40 per bunch depending on the type. Papaya prices, however, remain static at Tk 30-40 a kg.

On the other hand, prices of green chilies have shown a slight decline, now selling at Tk 250-300 a kg, while tomato prices have reached Tk 180-200 a kg, showing a Tk 10-30 hike in a week. Despite higher imports, onion prices have not eased. Local onions are priced at Tk 85-90 a kg in retail markets.

Hasan Ali, a trader at Rayer Bazar, said that imported onions were not cheaper than local ones, so retail prices remained unchanged. At the wholesale Karwan Bazar market, imported onions are selling at Tk 60-62 per kg, while local onions at Tk 65-68, but the retail prices are almost the same.

The prices of lentils have also increased. Finer lentils that were sold for Tk 135-140 a kg are now selling for Tk 145-160 a kg, a rise of Tk 15-20, while coarse lentils are being sold at Tk 125-130 a kg, marking a Tk 15 hike.

Potato prices are expected to increase in the coming days. For months, farmers and traders have been selling at a loss due to oversupply. Responding to the demands of traders and cold storage owners, the government has recently fixed the cold storage gate price at Tk 22 per kg.

Juel Rana, a grocer at West Dhanmondi, said while prices had not yet changed significantly, retail prices were likely to rise soon. Md Mosaddek Hossain, a wholesaler from Rayer Bazar-Beribadh area, explained that potatoes had earlier been sold from cold storage at Tk 14-15 a kg, but the cost had gone up by Tk 7.0 a kg. As a result, retail prices of Tk 25-30 may no longer be sustainable and could climb higher.

On August 27, the Ministry of Agriculture issued a circular fixing the cold storage gate prices but did not set a maximum retail price, meaning retail prices will ultimately be determined by the market. Traders fear that potato prices could rise to Tk 35-40 a kg. They, however, believe that proper government monitoring of the supply chain could help keep the price under control.

tonmoy.wardad@gmail.com