As the people get ready for the celebrations of Pahela Baishakh, the first day of Bangla New Year, tomorrow (Saturday), prices of Hilsa and meat shot up further.
Prices of Hilsa continued to skyrocket last week. Medium-sized hilsa was selling at Tk 1350-Tk 1500 a kg while the bigger one at Tk 1550-Tk 1800 a kg - an increase of Tk 250-Tk 400 in the last seven days and Tk 500-Tk 600 in last two weeks.
According to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) data, the hilsa price saw a hike of 80 to 93 per cent just in one week. However, the price increased by 32 per cent compared to the price a year ago.
Mortaza Khan Montu, president of Bangladesh Fish Traders Association, said the high demand for the fish led to the price hike.
However, the price might decline from Friday evening as traders have a large stock of hilsa, he added.
Arman Hossain, a fish vendor at Dhanmondi Section-15 in the city, said apart from Hilsa, prices of other fishes also witnessed a hike of Tk 100-Tk 150 a kg.
He said big traders at Karwan Bazar, Jatrabari and Sawarighat have raised the prices to make a hefty profit during the festival.
"I bought a rui (over two kg) at Tk 550 a kg from Jatrabari on Thursday morning. The price was hardly Tk 350-Tk 400 a kg only seven days ago," he said.
Meanwhile, prices of beef, which remained stable for the last three months, increased by 8.0-10.41 per cent in the last seven days, according to the TCB.
Beef sold at Tk 480-Tk 530 a kg on Thursday.
Bangladesh Meat Traders Association secretary Md Rabiul Islam told the FE that prices of cattle has started increasing since March.
He said each local cow, weighing about 100 kg, is selling at Tk 36,000-37,000 at the Gabtoli cattle market for the last two days, up from Tk 30,000.
Prices of dried fish also increased by Tk 80-Tk 200 a kg in last one and a half weeks.
'Laitta', a variety of dried fish, sold at Tk 600-Tk 660 a kg on Thursday.
Chicken prices also witnessed a further surge by Tk 10-Tk 50 a kg. Broiler chicken sold at Tk 145-150 and layer variety at Tk 175-Tk 185 a kg, local variety of chicken at Tk 420-Tk 450 a kg and Pakistani variety at Tk 240-Tk 280 a kg.
Traders said growing demand from both restaurants and households pushed up the price.
Prices of drumstick (sajna), cucumber, tomato, ladies finger, pointed gourd, and leafy vegetables also increased by Tk 5-Tk 10 a kg.
