Rice and potato became pricier further last week augmenting woes of the consumers already battered by the rocketing price trend of essentials.
Prices of rice at the retail level increased by Tk2.0-3.0 a kg further as coarse varieties of the staple sold at Tk50-54, medium varieties at Tk60-64 and common finer varieties at Tk70-85 a kg.
Prices of the branded packed finer rice remained static at previous high of Tk 82-Tk 89 a kg.
Potato price showed maximum Tk5.0 hike per kg in a week and Tk10 per kg in last two weeks.
Stored cardinal and diamond varieties of potato retailed at Tk25-Tk 30 a kg and carriage variety at Tk35-Tk 40 a kg on Friday.
Guljar Hossain, a grocer at Juhurimahalla in Mohammadpur, said prices of rice and potato have risen again at the wholesale level.
He added BRRI dhan 28 rice was selling at Tk2,850-2,880 a 50-kg sack at Mohammadpur Krishi Market , showing Tk100-120 hike per sack.
He said price of the diamond variety potato surged to Tk850-860 a maund (40 kg) from Tk750-780 a week back.
Kamal Uddin, a rice wholesaler at Mohammadpur Krishi Market, said rice prices increased by Tk20-30 a sack following a normal price trend but retailers are charging much higher compared to wholesale rates.
He claimed they were selling quality miniket at Tk62-63 a kg while it was retailing at Tk72-75 a kg in the groceries.
However, prices of rice remained almost static for last one week in the milling hubs like Kushtia, Rajshahi, Jaypurhat, Naogaon, Dinajpur and Rangpur, according to Bangladesh Auto Major Husking Mill Owners Association.
Md Hemayet, a potato and vegetable wholesaler at Karwan Bazar in the city, said price of the tuber crop has witnessed Tk5.0-6.0 a kg at cold storages in Munshiganj, Rangpur, Bogura and elsewhere in the country.
He added production of potato might have declined this year for untimely rain though the government claimed a bumper output.
The Ministry of Agriculture claimed potato production was an all-time high 11 million tonnes this outgoing financial year.
Consumers Association of Bangladesh vice president SM Nazer Hossain said the government claimed record outputs of both rice and potato but the rocketing price trends of the commodities do not match with the claim.
He added both rice and potato production data should be delivered by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics in no time to adopt timely export, import and safety-net policies.
He said monitoring both by the Directorate of National Consumer Right Protection and the Department of Agricultural Marketing should be reinforced to curb any artificial hike in prices of rice and potato to keep those key essentials within purchasing capacity of the commoners.
