Runaway prices of all essential goods are leaving people gasping, and buyers are helpless. The price of every item in the market has gone up, from rice, lentils, onions, chillies, soybean oil and flour to fish and meat. Never before have the prices of all goods risen together like this. Onions that cost Tk 40-45 a kg 15 days ago are now Tk 70-75, up at least Tk 25 a kg. Chicken is up Tk 30 a kg.

Sugar is also up Tk 15 a kg, ginger Tk 30-40, garlic Tk 8-10 and flour (atta) Tk 10. Eggs are up at least Tk 15 a dozen. Traders say the rise in edible oil prices on the international market has also affected the local market.

Golam Rahman, president of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB), told the media that in Bangladesh some goods usually get dearer in October, but this time the prices of all essentials have risen. "It is true that people are gasping. I hope the prices of vegetables and other fresh produce will fall by November. The commerce ministry is monitoring the market, but I don't think people are getting the benefit. I think the government must step up its monitoring. If necessary, the government should subsidise some goods and cut duties on some."

A vegetable seller at the North Badda kitchen market said it is vegetable season, so it is hard to understand why prices are rising. But a syndicate is at work across the market, and unless the government breaks it, nothing will be available at a bearable price.

A visit to several retail kitchen markets in the capital, including Rampura, North Badda and Coca-Cola Mor, found essentials dear in all of them. Green chillies sell at Tk 120-130 a kg, against a wholesale price of Tk 80-90 at Karwan Bazar. Yardlong beans are Tk 60 a kg wholesale but Tk 70-80 retail. Flat beans sell at Tk 110-115 a kg against Tk 90 wholesale. Okra is Tk 40 a kg wholesale and Tk 50-60 retail. Radish is Tk 45 wholesale and Tk 50-60 retail. Pointed gourd is Tk 35 wholesale and Tk 45-50 retail. White aubergine is Tk 50 wholesale and Tk 60-70 retail.

Cucumber is Tk 35 wholesale and Tk 50-55 retail; papaya Tk 15 wholesale and Tk 25 retail; long aubergine Tk 45 wholesale and Tk 60-65 retail; bitter gourd Tk 55 wholesale and Tk 60-70 retail. Bottle gourd is Tk 45-50 and cauliflower Tk 40-45. Potatoes are Tk 20-25 a kg. Ginger is Tk 135 wholesale and Tk 150-160 retail; Indian garlic Tk 120 wholesale and Tk 140-150 retail. Local carrots are Tk 90 wholesale and Tk 110 retail, and imported carrots Tk 115 wholesale and Tk 140 retail. Imported tomatoes are Tk 130 wholesale and Tk 150 retail. Radish is Tk 44 wholesale and Tk 55-60 retail, and snake gourd Tk 45 wholesale and Tk 55-60 retail.

Abdul Ali, a shopper from Mohammadpur, said: "I used to take home a full bag of shopping for Tk 500. Now it doesn't fill half the bag. No vegetable is below Tk 50-60. We can't go without eating either. If we protest, the police will take us away. I don't know what to do or who to turn to."

In the fish market, prices of all kinds of fish have risen. Tilapia that sold for Tk 150 a kg 10 days ago is now Tk 180. A 1-kg rui that sold for Tk 200 a week ago is now Tk 240-250. Pangas that sold for Tk 120 not long ago is now Tk 160, and medium koi that cost Tk 160-180 15 days ago is now Tk 220.

Alim, a fish seller at the Rampura kitchen market, said there is a shortage of fish in the market. Because of the hilsa ban, the government is not letting any other fish be caught in the rivers either, so all fish are dearer.

In the poultry market, broiler chicken is Tk 180 a kg, up from Tk 150-160 a short while ago. Sonali chicken is Tk 320, up from Tk 280-290 a week ago. Eggs are Tk 115 a dozen, up from Tk 95-100 a month ago.

Source: Samprotik Deshkal. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.