Prices of broiler chicken, beef and sugar that rose before Eid have not come down. Instead, potato and onion prices have risen in the days after Eid, and many vegetables are also getting dearer. This was the picture at several Dhaka markets on Friday.

Broiler chicken now sells at Tk 240-260 a kg, a rise that came before Eid. It has moved up and down by Tk 5-10 on some days, but broadly it is still as high as before. A week before Eid, beef rose from Tk 750 to Tk 800 a kg. Demand has fallen since, but the price has not; it still sells at the same rate.

Sher Ali of Allah'r Dan Gosht Bitan at Rampura market said that in this country once something goes up it cannot be brought down, as costs do not fall. Cattle prices are still as they were before Eid, he said, and "if they fall, we will sell for less too".

The sugar shortage that began before Eid has not eased. Although demand has returned to normal, the product still costs more than the government-set price. Where loose sugar is available it sells at Tk 125-130 a kg, although on 6 April the government set packaged sugar at Tk 109 a kg and loose sugar at Tk 104.

Retailers say distributors cut supply before Eid and, since Eid, have been taking orders for other goods but giving no word on sugar. Most of the sugar being sold was bought before Eid. Some retailers at Malibagh market said distributors are also making them buy several other products as a condition for getting sugar.

After Eid, onions have risen by Tk 10 a kg to Tk 40-50 depending on quality, and sell at Tk 36-42 a kg wholesale. Potatoes have risen by Tk 5-7 to Tk 30-35 a kg.

Potato and onion traders say wholesale depots are short of goods because imports and wholesale trade have not returned to normal after Eid, and with not all shops open there are also fewer wholesalers, so prices are rising. They said there is no problem at the import stage. The government says that, with good production, the market will face no problem even if onion imports stay closed through the coming Eid-ul-Azha and beyond.

In the vegetable market, nothing other than potatoes and papaya can be found for less than Tk 60 a kg.

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