Fish became pricier further last week augmenting sufferings of the commoners already in a fix amid the rocketing prices of grain, meat, cooking oil, sugar and other essentials.
Both cultured and indigenous varieties of fish witnessed a price hike of Tk50-Tk100 a kg in a week amid low catches as well as rising transport fare.
Garlic also witnessed Tk30-40 rise per kg further in a week.
Prices of other essentials remained at their previous highs.
Cultured koi, ruhi, katla, pangas, tilapia and other fish varieties witnessed Tk40-50 a kg hike.
Cultured ruhi was being sold at Tk350-500 a kg, katla at Tk320-450 and pangas at Tk260-300 a kg based on size and quality.
Prices of riverine ruhi, katla, hilsa, pabda, shrimp, shoul, tengra and bele also saw a hike.
Indigenous ruhi (above 2.5 kg in weight) was being sold at Tk460- 700 a kg and katla at Tk450-650 a kg at Karwan Bazar, Shantinagar and New Market on Friday.
Hilsa was being sold at Tk600-1,450 a kg depending on size and quality -Tk 100 a kg hike in a week.
Jakir Hossain, a fish vendor at Rayer Bazar in the city, said prices increased notably at Maowa, Karwan Bazar, Showari Ghat and Jatrabari in the city.
He said prices of fish also witnessed a hike in the cultured fish hubs Trishal, Natore and Sahjatpur amid rocketing trend of the feed prices.
He said low catches in the rivers as well as rising farming cost of cultured fish and high transport fares have been causing hike in fish prices across the year.
Meanwhile, price of local garlic increased to Tk100-Tk120 a kg and imported one to Tk130-150 a kg, marking Tk40 hike.
Secretary of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) Humayun Kabir Bhuiyan said cultured pangas, koi, tilapia and farm eggs are key protein sources for poor.
A gradual hike in prices of fish and other protein items has been hurting the poor further when the prices of rice, wheat flour, cooking oil, sugar, and most of other essentials have already witnessed a record surge in the last one and a half years, he added.
He suggested stricter market monitoring as well as taking initiatives by the government to minimise production costs of the agricultural produces.
tonmoy.wardad@gmail.com