Prices of essentials shoot up in Ctg

With Ramadan already underway, prices of essentials continue to soar in Chattogram kitchen markets -- at a time when hundreds of thousands of people are struggling with reduced income due to the restrictions brought about by the coronavirus outbreak.

Shoppers at the port city alleged that retailers are charging high prices at will, taking advantage of weak market monitoring.

Prices of edible oil, lentil, ginger, onion, ginger, garlic, chickpeas, chicken and palm and soybean oils have seen a sharp rise over the last two weeks.

However, prices of items like sugar, green chili and cucumber were still stable, giving some comforts to buyers.

During the first week of the month, prices of lentil saw a hike by Tk 15 per kilogramme due to sudden rise in demand, the price increased by Tk 10-15 per kilo again after Shab-e-barat.

Traders in Kajir Dewry Bazar and Karnaphuli CDA market were found selling Australian red lentils at Tk 90-95 a kg, which was Tk 78-80 per kilogramme just two weeks ago.

A five-litre can of soybean oil saw a price hike of at least Tk 25 in the last two weeks. Prices of different quality of chickpeas also rose by Tk 10-20 while traders were selling it for Tk 72-80 a kg.

"We face this every year during Ramadan," said homemaker Saju Ara Begum. "On top of that, with the restriction in place for coronavirus, the situation is more complicated now."

Meanwhile, prices of ginger saw an exorbitant hike in the last two weeks, reaching Tk 280-300 per kg against the previous rate of Tk 220 a kg.

According to Mohammad Suman, a retailer at Karnaphuli CDA market, sudden price hike in the wholesale hub at Khatunganj is to be blamed.

He also said the supply of ginger is quite low in the market.

Contacted, Md Idris, a wholesaler at Khatunganj, said the wholesale price of ginger went up around two weeks back due to supply shortage caused by the disruption in delivery of imported ginger from Chattogram port.

Wholesale price of onions -- both local and from Myanmar -- also went up by Tk 20 a kg at Khatunganj. As a result, the retail price also rose by Tk 20-25 a kg and reached Tk 60-65 per kilo yesterday.

Iftar items such as green chili and cucumber were being sold at Tk 30 and Tk 40 per kg at kitchen markets respectively.

Shahajahan Khan, a service holder, said, "I find it strange that these two items are still within the reach of consumers."

Meanwhile, Reajuddin Bazar, one of the largest and major kitchen markets in port city, was relocated to the nearby Chattogram Railway Station parking lot on Friday to ensure social distancing. The initiative was taken by Chattogram Metropolitan Police.