As holy month of Ramadan is approaching, prices of many key essentials, including fish, meat, egg, vegetables and spices have started to increase in the city kitchen markets, compounding woes of the consumers further.
Prices of beef, chicken, both deshi and farm, fishes, both cultured and indigenous ones, vegetables like brinjal, cucumber, tomato, coriander leaf, chilli, spices including onion, garlic and ginger, pulses including chickpea and khesari increased by 20-60 per cent in the last three weeks, with a fresh surge in the last seven days.
Ramadan will begin in the first week of May.
Beef was sold at Tk 500-560, broiler chicken Tk 160-170, layer chicken Tk 200-210, deshi (indigenous) chicken Tk 480-550 a kilogram on Thursday.
Cultured ruhi, katla and koi were sold at Tk 180-320 per kg, based on quality, while cultured pabda and tengra were sold at Tk 450-550 a kg on the day - Tk 40-60 hike in a week.
Indigenous ruhi, katla, shoul, pabda, tengra, baim, bachha, bele, hilsa and shrimp were sold at Tk 450-1050 a kg in different kitchen markets in the city - Tk 50-200 surge in the last three weeks.
Cucumber and Brinjal were sold at Tk 50-60 a kg, tomato Tk 40-50, chilli Tk 80-100, different summer vegetables at Tk 60-110 a kg/piece, onion both local and imported varieties at Tk 28-35 per kg, imported garlic Tk 110-120 and ginger Tk 100-140 on the day.
Chickpea was sold at Tk 85-100, based on quality, which was Tk 75-85 per kg a few weeks back.
The prices of essentials have significantly increased despite assurances, made multiple times in the last one month by ministers and officials of concerned departments of the government that they will be stable ahead of the Ramadan.
Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi on Wednesday at a meeting said: "There will be no price hike of daily commodities during the upcoming Ramadan month".
He made this comment at a meeting on reviewing the scenario of the production, import, stock and prices of daily necessities.
Urging the traders, including retailers to sell their goods at fair prices he said, "There is enough stock of commodities in the market. Supply system and prices are also within the reach of people."
He further said: "Since, there will be no shortage of goods supply in the market, there will be no chance of price hike during the fasting month."
He warned that if there is any extortion in transporting goods, stern action will be taken.
Secretary of Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) Humayun Kabir Bhuiyan said that the essential commodities have become costlier further although the commerce minister gave assurance just a day back that there would be no chance of hiking their prices ahead of the holy month.
He said there is no logic behind the continued price hikes of most of the day-to-day necessities as there has been no major natural disaster or any major setback in production to affect the supply.
Rather import costs of most of commodities are now much lower than they were (before) which is supposed to help get the items in cheaper rates (in the local market), he observed.
He noted that import cost of onion is now Tk 12-16 a kg, garlic Tk 52-62, chickpea Tk 54-56 and khesari Tk 38-42.
He said prices of cattle in the rural areas are much lower than that of a year ago.
But prices of beef and mutton have been skyrocketing several months ahead of the coming Ramadan, he mentioned.
He said commoners were also suffering the most as costs of broiler, layer chicken, farm egg and cultured fishes have also been increasing.
"This terrible practice ahead of the holy month cannot become the model and we urge that the government step up its efforts of monitoring the market, and take necessary action," he said.
He also pointed out that as the government, traders, suppliers and wholesalers were assuring that the supply is plenty, so an investigation should be launched to detect at which stage of the supply chain the prices are being manipulated.
