Veggies bring relief, rice prices bite

Prices of winter vegetables and fish fell in the capital’s kitchen markets over the past week as supplies increased, while onions, green chillies and eggs became slightly cheaper.

Consumers, however, had mixed reactions, as rice prices rose by Tk 1 per kg for the second straight week after remaining stable for months.

The picture emerged during visits to kitchen markets in Mirpur-1, Mirpur-11, Ibrahimpur, Shewrapara and Kazipara yesterday.

With winter vegetables arriving in larger quantities, most items became Tk 10-20 per kg cheaper.

Traders said most vegetables, except flat beans (shim), carrots and tomatoes, were selling for Tk 40-80 per kg, down from Tk 50-100 a week ago.

“Increased supply has pushed prices down, bringing more customers to the market,” said Imam Hossain, a vegetable seller at Kazipara Kitchen Market.

Cauliflowers and cabbages were selling for Tk 40-60 apiece, down from Tk 60-80 last week, while radish dropped to Tk 40-50 per kg from Tk 50-60.

Ridge gourd (jhinge), sponge gourd (dhundul) and pointed gourd (potol) were selling for Tk 40-50 per kg after a Tk 10 drop. Leafy vegetables also became cheaper by Tk 5-20 a bundle, with bottle gourd leaves (lau shak) and malabar spinach (pui shak) selling for Tk 30 and red amaranth (lal shak) for Tk 10.

However, newly arrived local green tomatoes sold for Tk 120 per kg, ripe tomatoes for Tk 180 and imported Indian tomatoes for Tk 120-150.

Local onions dropped from Tk 50-60 to Tk 45-50 per kg, green chillies from Tk 120-140 to Tk 100-120, and coriander leaves from Tk 160-200 to Tk 120.

Abdul Khalek, shopping at Kazipara Mosque Market, said he was pleased with the decline in vegetable prices, noting that costs had fallen by about 20-25 percent over the past month.

But Salma Akter, a shopper at Mirpur-1 City Corporation Market, said the reductions were not enough for low-income families.

“A Tk 10-20 reduction per kg is not enough. Since it’s winter, a cauliflower selling for Tk 50 should cost around Tk 20 now. Flat beans are still Tk 120 per kg when they should be below Tk 100. And how are tomatoes and carrots still selling for more than Tk 100?” she said.

At Mirpur-1 market, increased supplies of farmed, wetland and imported Indian fish pushed prices down by Tk 20 to Tk 100 per kg.

Chital sold for Tk 500 per kg, down from Tk 600, while Tengra fell from Tk 400 to Tk 350 and swamp barb (puti) from Tk 250-300 to Tk 200-300.

Farmed rohu/rui (1 kg size) dropped by Tk 20 to Tk 280 per kg, while katla fell from Tk 280 to Tk 260.

Fish traders, however, said sales remained sluggish despite the lower prices, as consumers were short of cash towards the end of the month.

Farm egg prices also fell by Tk 5 per dozen to Tk 135-140.

Meat prices remained unchanged, with broiler chicken selling for Tk 170-180, Sonali chicken for Tk 300-320, beef for Tk 720-780 and mutton for Tk 1,200-1,250 per kg.

Meanwhile, rice prices rose by another Tk 1 per kg across almost all varieties, following a similar increase last week.

Kamal Hossain, proprietor of Makbul Rice Agency at Mirpur-11 kitchen market, attributed the consecutive hikes to higher transport costs and dwindling stocks of old rice towards the end of the season.

He said it would take at least two more months for new rice to reach the market.