Chicken price marks sharp rise
Staff Correspondent
The prices of vegetables rose further in the past week with their supply still remaining short in the city markets.
Prices of chickens also increased sharply in the week, rice ruled with a mixed trend but powder milk and red lentils recorded falls further.
Consumers and traders agreed the latest trends in vegetable prices in middle of the winter was very unusual, something they could not explain.
‘I cannot remember any mid-winter with vegetables selling at such high prices,’ Abu Torab a shopper, bargaining with a grocer selling potato, onion and spices, at Nakhalpara Bazar.
At the market on Friday, early harvested potato per kilogram was retailing at Tk 24 and onions at Tk 34 and Tk 38.
Potato became dear by Tk 2 over the week and Tk 6 in a couple of weeks and onions Tk 4 and Tk 8 respectively.
‘Even in the last mid-winter vegetables sold at less than one-third of the current prices,’ recalled Torab an employee of Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
Nuruddin a green grocer was selling beans between Tk 36 and Tk 40 per kilogram, small bitter gourd at Tk 48, un-husked green pea at Tk 50. He sold a medium-size cauliflower at Tk 25 and bottle gourd at Tk 45.
‘We also feel pains of consumers as in this mid-winter they are used to buy vegetables at cheaper rates. But this time prices of almost every item has gone up,’ Nuruddin explained.
He attributed the reasons behind the high prices to dense fog in mid-December, wreaking havoc on the vegetables in the fields.
Retailing between Tk 125 and Tk 130 a kilogram live broiler has become costlier by Tk 20 in a week, which a section of the traders described was due to high prices of vegetable.
But Khondaker Mohsin, a leader of the Bangladesh Poultry Association said price of broiler increased due to supply shortage as production was cut drastically in recent weeks.
‘Throughout November-December, live broiler had retailed between Tk 75 and Tk 85 per kilogram and such unviable price discouraged chicken farmers and producers of day-old chicks.’
Price of meat, eggs and fishes remained somewhat stable in the week.
After two weeks of declines, rice price at retails remained unchanged in the week but at wholesale prices showed increasing trend again.
Ordinary grade coarse rice retailed per kilogram between Tk 25 and Tk 28, medium grade per boiled rice sold between Tk 31 and Tk 35 while fine varieties najir and miniket- retailed between Tk 36 and Tk 40.
Selling between Tk 76 and Tk 105 per kilogram red lentils became cheaper by Tk 5 over the week.
After months of declines on its international prices local brands of powder milk started falling in the past week. Marks, Starship and Fresh brands had cut price of per kilogram milk by around Tk 50.
Among other major commodities, packed coarse flour sold per kilogram between Tk 25 and Tk 26, non-packed super palm oil between Tk 65 and Tk 70, sugar between Tk 32 and Tk 34 while bottled soya bean sold between Tk 90 and Tk 83 per litre.
Courtesy: newagebd.com
