With Pahela Baishakh, the first day of Bangla New Year, drawing nearer, prices of Hilsa and other fishes, chicken and aromatic rice saw a further rise last week.
The day is celebrated on April 14 amid great festivity in the country.
The prices of seasonal vegetables and some spices also witnessed a surge last week.
Hilsa and most other fishes saw a price hike of Tk 80-Tk 250 per kg/piece, traders said. A medium-sized Hilsa sold at Tk 550-Tk 900 last week.
Hilsa of above 900 gram was selling at Tk 1350-Tk 1800 a piece.
Md Kamal Uddin, a fish vendor at Araillar Bazar in Rayer Bazar area of the city, said big traders in Karwan Bazar, Jatrabari and Sawarighat are stockpiling the fish to make a hefty profit ahead of the festival, which caused a shortage of supply.
"I bought four pieces of medium-sized hilsa, weighing less than 750 gram, at Tk 2,650 from Sawarighat on Thursday morning, up from Tk 2,000 few days ago.
Mortuza Khan Montu, president of Bangladesh Fish Traders Association, said, fishing has been banned in key sanctuaries, which led to a supply crunch.
He said traders in Cox's Bazar and Chittagong are selling medium-sized Hilsa at Tk 19,000-Tk 22,000 a maund (40 kg) for the last one week, 30 per cent up from ten days ago.
Mr Khan, expecting a decline just before the festival, said the market might be saturated with the fish.
According to the Department of Fisheries, the country consumes 0.4 million tonnes of the national fish annually, of which 20 per cent are traded in April alone when the Baishakhi festival is celebrated.
Most other fishes also witnessed a price hike of Tk 60-Tk 150 a kg last week.
Indigenous rui sold at Tk 500 to Tk 850 a kg depending on its size, pabda at Tk 450-Tk 950, shol at Tk 500-Tk 650, and puti at Tk 300-Tk 450 a kg.
Prices of dry fish also saw a hike by Tk 60-120 a kg.
Poultry bird prices increased further last week.
Chicken (broiler) sold at Tk 145-Tk 150 and Tk 170 (layer) a kg on Thursday, a Tk 5 increase in a week.
Pakistani and local varieties of chicken witnessed a hike of Tk 20-Tk 50 a kg further, as Pakistani variety sold at Tk 250-Tk 270 a kg and local chicken at Tk 420-Tk 450 a kg on the day.
Md Mursalin (Sujon), a poultry farm owner at Baliarpur, Savar, told the FE that demands from hotel and restaurants have increased significantly in the last two weeks as they are stockpiling chickens for the upcoming Baishakhi festival.
"We are selling broiler chicken at Tk 142 per kg, which was hardly Tk 118 two weeks ago," he said.
Prices of aromatic rice increased by Tk 5-Tk 8 a kg as Chinigura and Kalijeera sold at Tk 104-Tk 125 a kg.
Kataribhog and Gobindobhog variety of rice sold between Tk 85 and Tk 95 a kg.
Prices of some vegetables, including pointed gourd, ladies finger and snake gourd have also increased by Tk 10 a kg last week.
