Prices of onion and vegetables witnessed decline but loose edible oil and sugar became costlier last week compounding sufferings of the consumers.
Newly-harvested seed onion (known as murikata) was sold at Tk 80-120 per kilogram (kg) depending on quality and imported ones at Tk 60-130 a kg on Thursday- Tk 10-20 decline in a week.
Rising supply of the seed onion has contributed to the the tuber price decline, market observers and traders said.
Winter vegetables including cauliflower, cabbage, country bean, radish, carrot and tomato showed a Tk 10-20 decline at per kg/piece in the last seven days, thanks to massive drop in prices of the items at farm level, said insiders.
Cauliflower and cabbage were retailed at Tk 35-45 a piece, country bean of different varieties at Tk 35-50 a kg, radish at Tk 30-35, carrot Tk 50 and newly-harvested tomato at Tk 70-80 a kg on the day.
Asstant Director of Department of Agricultural Marketing (DAM) Touhid Mohammad Rashed Khan, said vegetables prices showed a notable decline in last week in rural areas.
He said medium-sized cauliflower was selling at Tk 10- 12 a kg (Tk 14-16 a piece) and cabbage at Tk 9.0-10 a kg (Tk 12-15) a piece at Cumilla, Narsingdi, Sirajganj, Bogura and Jashore now-almost 50 per cent plunge in seven days.
He said a huge price gap between village and Dhaka wholesale/retails levels is existing depriving the consumers of cheaper veggies.
Further rise in loose soybean and palm oil prices has further increased woes of the consumers, especially the low-income group. Prices of sugar also showed hike in the last seven days.
Loose soybean was sold at Tk 88- 92 a litre and super palm oil at Tk 78- 80 a litre.
State-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) recorded a 3.5 to 4.0 per cent rise in loose soybean and palm oil prices just in a day.
Md Rafiqul Islam, a grocer at Rayer Bazar in the city, told the FE that decline in temperature caused hike in loose soybean prices.
"Loose soybean is adulterated with palm oil throughout the year by unscrupulous traders. But in winter, palm oil frosts when temperature goes below 24 degree Celsious," he noted.
"So, traders usually avoid such adulteration and the price of soybean increases during the winter every year," he noted.
Contacted, Mohammad Golam Maula, a wholesaler at Dhaka's Moulovibazar, denied such allegation of adulteration.
He said demand for cooking oil has increased notably across the country during the current marriage and picnic season.
Demand is also high among restaurants and hotels amid upcoming new year's eve, he further said.
"Cooking oil prices increased by Tk 1.5-2.0 a litre in the last one week following normal market trend," he added.
Bangladesh consumes 2.4 million tonnes of cooking oil annually of which it imports 1.9 million tonnes.
Its annual soybean import is 0.4 million tonnes and palm oil 1.4 million tonnes, according to the commerce ministry.
Prices of sugar, a widely-consimed sweetener, increased by Tk 5.0 a kg and sold at Tk 60-65 a kg based on quality.
Branded packed sugar was static at Tk 65-70 a kg.
