Mask prices double as COVID infections surge in Bangladesh

UNB :
As COVID-19 infections has begun to rise once again in Bangladesh, the prices of face masks has doubled in the wholesale market, driven by opportunistic traders seeking to cash in on its growing demand.
A visit to several wholesale mask shops in Babubazar, Dhaka, revealed that the resurgence in coronavirus cases has significantly increased the demand for masks, prompting crowds of retail traders to flock to the area in hopes of securing stock at reasonable prices.
Though they expected to find masks at low prices, they were met with quite the opposite — each box of surgical masks is now being sold at nearly double the previous rate.
Mithu, who runs a mask business near Shahjahanpur Railway Station, said until recently, he was buying boxes of surgical masks for Tk 60–65. “Today, those same masks are being sold at Tk 120 per box. The wholesalers are refusing to negotiate on prices,” he added.
At Malibagh intersection, another mask trader, Shah Ali, expressed similar concerns. “Previously, the wholesale price for a thousand surgical masks was Tk 900. Today, it has jumped to Tk 1,600. Due to the increased wholesale price, we’ve had to raise retail prices too. Where we used to sell five surgical masks for Tk 10, now we’re forced to sell only three for the same amount,” he said.
The price hike is not limited to surgical masks. N95 masks, which were previously sold for Tk 10 each, are now being priced between Tk 15 and Tk 20 per piece.