Staff Reporter :
The high price of sugar, lentil, gram, sugar, edible oil, and date will make the iftar costlier for the country’s Muslim community as they are going to start fasting from today.
The price of sugar and edible oil remained high in the country while date, gram and lentils prices were hiked ahead of Ramadan.
Besides, the price of onion, cucumber, eggplant and lemon are also showing an upward trend whereas the price of imported fruits went beyond the people’s purchasing capacity.
On the other hand, it was seen that the iftar bazar was flooded with pre-mature watermelon and is also selling at high price.
Razia Sultana, a buyer from Mirpur area said a few days ago per kilogram bringer was being sold at Tk 60 and lemon per hali (four pieces) at Tk 20-25 but today (Monday) at Tk 80 and Tk 40 to 50 respectively.
According to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), this year prices of sugar, dates, beads and anchor lentils reached a three-year high.
As per TCB, prices of sugar increased by Tk 60-67 a kg to Tk 140-145 a kg in 2024 from Tk 78-80 a kg before Ramadan in 2022 while prices of chickpeas rose by Tk 25-40 a kg to Tk 100-110 a kg in 2024 from Tk 70-75 a kg prior to Ramadan in 2021. However, market prices of sugar and chickpeas are Tk 5 higher than the TCB prices.
Trader Kamul Islam owns Lakshimpur Store in the capital’s Karwan Bazar. He said that prices of chickpeas and various types of lentils are on the rise ahead of Ramadan. The price of gram flour also increased to Tk 140-150 a kg.
According to TCB, prices of anchor dal rose to Tk 80-90 a kg in 2024 from Tk 55-60 a kg before Ramadan in 2022 while prices of local varieties of onions increased to Tk 90-100 a kg from Tk 30-80 a kg in 2022.
