Vegetables, which already witnessed a series of price hikes in the last couple of months, became a bit more costly on Friday compared to that in the last several days amid incessant rains triggered by a depression developed over the North-west Bay in the last week.
Most of the vegetables in the city's kitchen markets were sold at Tk 70-120 a kg or per piece on Friday while prices of potato, a widely-used veg, and kitchen staple onion remained at almost their previous highs despite various government moves to keep them under the purchasing power of the commoners.
Apart from that, retail prices of edible oils remained static at their previous highs despite a reduction in the rates of soybean and palm oils by the refiners on Thursday. Sources said, the move is yet to have any impact on retail markets.
Visiting the city's two kitchen markets - Rampura and Malibagh - this correspondent found that potato was still selling at Tk 50 per kg at grocery stores while vegetable vendors were selling the yellow root tuber at Tk 45 a kg, a reduction of Tk 5.0 in a week.
The government has set the retail price of potato at Tk 35 per kg while the Department of Agricultural Marketing (DAM) fixed its price at Tk 27 a kg at cold storages and Tk 30 at the wholesales last Tuesday.
The authority also decided to sell potatoes through the dealers of the state-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) at Tk 25 a kg and a customer can purchase a maximum of two kg at a time.
Md Mostafa, a vegetable vendor at Rampura kitchen market, said, "Prices of potato at wholesales haven't yet decreased while the wholesalers are attributing its high cost to a supply shortage."
According to the traders vegetable prices went up on an average of Tk 05-10 in the last couple of days due to the supply crunch and rotting.
Green chilli were sold at Tk 220-250 per kg, tomato Tk 110-120 a kg, ladies finger Tk 65-70, carrot Tk 70-80, snake gourd Tk 60, pointed gourd Tk 80, long bean Tk 80, brinjal (long) Tk 90, brinjal (round) Tk 110, green banana Tk 40 (per four pieces), bitter gourd Tk 80-90, sweet bitter gourd Tk 80, ridge gourd Tk 70, sponge gourd Tk 70-80, radish Tk 70, green papaya Tk 40, gourd Tk 50-70 per piece, cauliflower Tk 50-60 a piece, and cabbage (small) Tk 40 on the day.
Cucumber prices reduced in the past two days to Tk 70-90 a kg from Tk 90-100 while beans were sold at Tk 80-90, reduced from Tk 100-110 a week ago.
Onion prices still remained beyond the buying capacity of the low-income groups as was sold at Tk 80-90 a kg (local) and Tk 70-80 (imported) on the day.
Edible oil refiners on Thursday at a meeting with the commerce minister assured to slash prices of per litre palm and soybean oil (loose) at mill gate by Tk 02.
Currently, loose soybean oil was retailed at Tk 88-92 per litre while bottled one (of different brands) at Tk 110-118 a litre.
Most parts of the country, including Dhaka city, experienced moderate-to-heavy rainfall on Friday due to the depression over the Bay.
The Met office recorded 44mm rainfall in the capital till 6:00pm on the day.
Though the depression was weakening yesterday afternoon, it may cause rainfall in different parts of the country in the next 48 hours, it forecast.
