Traders selling attar, prayer caps (topi) and prayer mats have been doing a brisk business during the holy month of Ramadan.
With the Eid-ul Fitr just one or two days away, sales of these three essential items for the festive season have reached a peak in the city, as Eid shoppers are rushing to finish up their last-minute shopping.
At shopping malls like Bashundhara City and Baitul Mokarram Mosque shopping complex, traders were seen busy dealing with an increased number of customers for the last few days.
Talking to the FE correspondent, the traders expressed satisfaction with the big sales ahead of Eid.
The sales of local and imported attar, prayer caps, prayer mats and tasbi have increased substantially in this holy month, they said.
There are different types of attars. White amber is the most popular of them all, the traders said.
Usually, the volume of sales of attars, prayer caps, tasbi and prayer mat in the month of Ramadan is equal to the combined sales in the remaining months of the year, they said.
Abdul Gaffer, a proprietor of Barkati Attar House at Baitul Mokarram Mosque market, said customers are looking for newer varieties of these items, as people's tastes and preferences are changing with time.
The trader imports attar from Middle Eastern countries like the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
He said his shop sells 12ml of White Amber for Tk 2,000 while Dinar, Eternity and Rizwan cost Tk 6,000, Tk 2,000 and Tk 6,000 respectively.
Besides, Haramaine's attars are also best-selling items and the prices of 12ml to 15ml of attars range between Tk 450 and Tk 15,000, he said.
About prayer caps, he said the prices of Omani and Rumi (Turkey) caps are Tk 12,000 and Tk 6,000 a piece respectively while an Iranian cap costs Tk 12,000 to Tk 15,000.
And the prices of Azmir, Malaysian, Pakistani, Gujrati and Saudi Arabian caps range between Tk 400 and Tk 4,500, he added.
The lowest price of a local prayer mat is Tk 100 while a Turkish mat costs Tk 300 to Tk 12,000 and a Chinese mat Tk 700 to Tk 1,000 depending on quality, he said.
Customers are more interested to buy Turkish mats, Mr Gaffer said.
He also sells different types of tasbi imported from China, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, India and Pakistan.
Jasim Uddin, a proprietor of Crystal Corporation at Baitul Mukarram Mosque market, told the FE that the sales of attar and caps this year are satisfactory.
His shop sells a locally-made cap for Tk 50 to Tk 200, he said.
Abu Musa, a proprietor of Bismillah Attar House at Baitul Mukarram Mosque market, said he sells attars like Darber and Al-Hajrul-Al Aswad at Tk 100 a bottle and 3ml of Blue Wave and D-love attars at Tk 150.
The prices of a local cap range between Tk 150 and Tk 200 and a Pakistani cap between Tk 250 to Tk 300, he said.
Md Sazzad Hossain, in-charge of the showroom of Izma Attar and Perfumery at the Bashundhara City Shopping Mall, told the FE that the sales of attar saw an increase this year, compared to the previous years.
The salesmen have remained busy selling the items from the day one of Ramadan, he added.
"Besides local brands, we have a rich collection of attar imported from Middle Eastern countries," he mentioned.
Local attars made in Sylhet region are widely popular among buyers, he added.
The fragrances of local attar are known as White Wood, Black Wood, Ruhama, Amber Wood and King Wood, he said.
Sales of caps have also increased in his shop, Mr Hossain said, adding that a Pakistani stone-studded cap sells for Tk 1,500.
