Fish, meat and aromatic rice have become pricier this week ahead of Eid-ul-Azha.
The prices of hilsa, rui and katla have gone up by Tk 150-Tk 200 a kg while pabda, tengra, shol and shrimp witnessed an increase of Tk 50 to Tk 80 a kg over a week.
On Friday, big-sized hilsa, weighing over 900 gram, was selling at Tk 1400-Tk 1800 a kg and the medium-sized ones at Tk 850-Tk 1000 a kg.
Indigenous rui, weighing over 4.0 kg, was selling at Tk 500-Tk 650 a kg while katla of same size at Tk 450-Tk 500 a kg.
Sirajul Alam, a fish trader at Rayer Bazar in the city, told the FE that the supply of fish has been dwindling, as water vessels are now mostly busy transporting cattle to the city markets.
Many fish traders have also started leaving the capital for their home districts to celebrate the Eid there, leading to a short supply, he said.
Besides, the prices of fish have increased in the wholesale markets like Maowa and Trishal, two major fishing hubs, he added.
Mortuza Khan Mantu, president of Bangladesh Fish Traders Association, said that traders are now buying less fish than usual to avoid loss, as most city dwellers would head towards home by Sunday.
Meanwhile, the prices of cultured fish like rui, katla, koi and pangas declined in the city markets by Tk 15-Tk 20 a kg.
Prices of chicken have increased by Tk 10-Tk 30 a kg in the last seven days.
Broiler chicken was sold at Tk 155-Tk 165 a kg, layer chicken at Tk 180-Tk 190 a kg while indigenous chicken at Tk 430-Tk 460 a kg on Friday.
Traders also raised the prices of beef by Tk 20 a kg, now selling at Tk 500-Tk 530 a kg.
Aromatic rice varieties like kalijeera and chinigura (loose) were selling at Tk 106-Tk 112 a kg, an increased of Tk 5.0-Tk 6.0.
However, the prices of branded packet rice of the same varieties remained stable at Tk 115-Tk 125 a kg.
