Buyers happy as onion prices fall in kitchen markets
Vegetables also get cheaper in the second week of Ramadan
STAFF REPORTER
Prices of onion have come down during Ramadan in a surprise departure from past trends when it used to invariable shoot up in the capitals kitchen markets.
Onion, the most sought after commodity that goes into the preparation of Iftar items, saw prices fall by Tk. 510 per kg. However, there exists a yawning gap between the prices at the wholesale and retail markets.
Consumers said most traders did not follow the rules and prices fixed by the authorities. There are also allegations against monitoring agencies that they do not properly check the markets to keep the prices of Ramadan goods at a reasonable level.
When asked, traders were initially reluctant to open up. But they later said that prices of vegetables had decreased slightly for a few days and then increased slightly.
It was yesterday found that in the capitals Karwan Bazar and other markets, the prices of cucumber, carrot and eggplant, alogn with onion, had fallen, but the price of broiler chicken had risen slightly.
Traders said there were adequate supplies of domestic and imported onion in the market. Besides, the cost of importing onion from India had also dropped. As a result, the prices of domestic and imported onion had come down.
In various markets, onion was being sold for Tk. 35-45 a kg. Imported Indian onion sold for Tk. 2030 per kg.
Only a week ago, domestic onion was selling at Tk. 5055 a kg in markets of the capital and the price of Indian onion was Tk. 3538.
Asked about the reasons for the fall in prices, traders of Karwan Bazar told The Independent that there was abundant supply of local and imported onion. India, too, had reduced prices, resulting in a fall in the price of imported onion. With the prices of the imported variety coming down, the local onion, too, registered a fall in price.
The traders also mentioned that onion prices were quite low at present.
Before Ramadan, they said, they had sold onion for Tk. 5055 a kg and now onion was selling for Tk. 4045.
The price of broiler chicken was Tk. 150160 per kg. The price of a red cock, which was sold for Tk. 180190 last week, increased to Tk. 200220. Beef and mutton prices, too, had increased. Beef was being sold for Tk. 500550 per kg and mutton for Tk. 750800.
One of the buyers said: Dhaka City Corporation has given instructions for beef to be sold at Tk. 450 per kg. But at my local meat shop, its selling at Tk. 500 per kg.
Along with onion, prices of other vegetables, too, had fallen in the capitals markets. At the beginning of Ramadan, cucumber and carrot had sold for Tk. 100 a kg, but now they were Tk. 40-50. Almost all vegetables, including eggplant, bitter gourd, pointed gourd, ladies finger, string bean, and snake gourd, were cheaper this week.
In many markets including Karwan Bazar, cucumber was being sold yesterday for Tk. 4550, down from Tk. 80100 last week.
Like cucumber, carrot was being sold at Tk. 4045 a kg. Eggplant, the most popular iftar food stuff, was being sold at Tk. 4550 a kg.
However, red spinach, green spinach, jute leafy vegetables were being sold at Tk. 1520, a price higher than last weeks. The price of snake gourd, which was sold at Tk. 40 a kg last week, increased to Tk. 6070.
The price of papaya, which was high for a fortnight, dropped this week, selling for Tk. 40-45 a kg. The price of teasel gourd was Tk. 6070. Chilli was being sold for Tk. 4550 a kg.
The Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) is selling five necessary itemssoya bean oil, sugar, red lentils, grams and datesat relatively low prices.
A team, led by an officer of the rank of deputy secretary, has been visiting the markets daily and reporting back to the commerce ministry.
The Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection, under the commerce ministry, is keeping an eye on prices of all essential Ramadan goods.
EA/SI
