Although prices did not rise again over the week, all kinds of vegetables are selling at high prices in the capital's markets, and the discomfort over chicken prices remains. Vegetable and chicken prices are hurting low-income people badly. Some even complain that they have stopped eating meat because of the abnormal price of broiler chicken.

Visits to various markets in the capital on Friday, 22 October, found traders selling broiler chicken at Tk 185 to Tk 190 a kg, Pakistani cock or Sonali chicken at Tk 330 to Tk 350 a kg and red layer chicken at Tk 220 to Tk 230 a kg. Chicken prices did not change over the week.

Because prices had already risen abnormally, low-income people are disappointed to hear chicken prices. Hasibul, who came to buy broiler chicken at Rampura market, said he tries to eat rice and meat with his family one or two days a month. "We can't afford beef or mutton, so broiler chicken is what we rely on. But it seems even that will slip out of reach," he said.

He said that when he came to the market last Friday, broiler chicken was selling at Tk 190 a kg, and some were selling at Tk 185 after bargaining. Because of the price, he went home last week without buying chicken. Today the sellers are asking the same price. "We haven't had meat for a long time and everyone at home is waiting for it, so I am buying a chicken even at the higher price," he said.

Salam, a rickshaw puller, was leaving Malibagh market disappointed without buying broiler chicken. "I haven't eaten meat for a long time, so I came to buy a chicken. But even broiler chicken is abnormally expensive, so I'm going back without one," he said.

He said he had stopped buying beef and mutton several years ago. The last time he got some meat was at the last Eid-ul-Azha, and he has not eaten beef since. He buys broiler chicken now and then, but its price too has risen abnormally. "It seems meat is not in the fate of poor people like us," he said.

Alongside chicken, vegetable prices are also hurting. As before, traders are selling carrots and tomatoes at the highest prices. A kilo of carrots sells at Tk 100 to Tk 160 depending on quality, and tomatoes at Tk 140 to Tk 160 a kg. Prices of the two vegetables are unchanged over the week.

Other vegetables are also selling at high prices. Early winter beans sell at Tk 80 to Tk 120 a kg, as last week. Ridge gourd sells at Tk 40 to Tk 50 a kg, small cauliflowers and cabbages at Tk 30 to Tk 50 each and radish at Tk 40 to Tk 60 a kg. These prices have hardly changed over the week.

Prices of snake gourd, yardlong beans, okra, pointed gourd and bitter gourd are also unchanged over the week. Bitter gourd sells at Tk 60 to Tk 80, snake gourd at Tk 50 to Tk 60 a kg, pointed gourd at Tk 50 to Tk 60 a kg, okra at Tk 40 to Tk 60 a kg and yardlong beans at Tk 70 to Tk 80 a kg.

Green bananas sell at Tk 30 to Tk 35 a hali (four), red amaranth at Tk 10 to Tk 20 a bunch, radish greens at Tk 15 to Tk 20 a bunch and water spinach at Tk 5 to Tk 10 a bunch. These prices too are unchanged over the week.

Shahidul Islam, who came to buy vegetables at Karwan Bazar, said there is no relief in the market for anything now and everything is expensive. But vegetables are cheaper here than in neighbourhood markets, so he takes the trouble to come here.

He said the prices of rice, lentils, oil, sugar, onions and garlic are all abnormal, and some profiteering traders are pushing up prices through manipulation. The ups and downs of onion prices have made this clear, he said: onions went up to Tk 80 a kg for no reason, and as soon as the government announced it would withdraw the duty, the price fell to Tk 60 a kg. "How can this be normal? In fact no one is monitoring the market, and profiteering traders are taking advantage," he said.

Last week onion prices fell by Tk 10 a kg to Tk 65 to Tk 70. Over the week they fell by another Tk 5 and are now selling at Tk 60 to Tk 65 a kg.

Karwan Bazar trader Habibur Rahman said there is no shortage of onions in the market, but prices rose suddenly because fewer onions were coming from India. Prices have come down somewhat since the government withdrew the import duty, and they may fall a little further when newly imported onions reach the market, he said.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.