The prices of ginger, one of the main spices, soared at city markets in the last three days, compounding woes of the consumers further.
One kilogram (kg) of ginger was sold at Tk 170 on Tuesday, a 40-45 per cent rise in 72 hours.
Many traders attributed the skyrocketing of prices of the essential cooking ingredient to rising import costs.
However, some of them blamed the sudden price hike on hoarding.
Ginger, both imported and local, was selling at Tk 140-170 a kg by the vendors and grocers across the capital.
The price was Tk 100-Tk 140 three days back in the city, according to grocers.
State-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) recorded a 40-45 per cent price hike at retail markets in the last three days.
Joynal Abedin, a grocer at Lalmatia, Mohammadpur in the city, said big traders substantially increased their stock notably at Shyambazar and Karwan Bazar - the two main wholesale markets - recently.
He said supply was good but ginger was traded at Tk 120-145 per kg at Shyambazar on Monday evening which was Tk 90-Tk 115 a kg on Saturday morning.
Narayan Chandra Saha, a Shaymbazar-based spice importer, told the FE that the price of imported Chinese ginger has been increasing amid rising import costs.
Bangladesh imports bulk of ginger from China and India.
Mr Saha said both Indian and Chinese ginger prices increased by 20-25 per cent to US $950- $1050 a tonne in September.
But the price of local variety will start declining when new crop hits the market next month (November), he added.
However, the data of the Ministry of Commerce and the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) revealed that the country has a demand for 0.65 million tonnes of ginger a year of which it produces 0.185 million tonnes.
The demand is fulfilled with import, mainly from China and India.
Prices of onion also increased slightly-by Tk 2-Tk 3 a kg in the last few days.
Local onion was sold at Tk 48-55 and imported Indian varieties at Tk 32-Tk 38 a kg in different parts of the city on Tuesday.
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