No respite visible from high prices of flour, edible oil, sugar
Staff Reporter :
Prices of essential grains such as rice, packaged wheat flour (atta), and all-purpose flour (maida) still remained high, with no signs of coming down anytime soon.
Besides, kitchen essentials including lentils, sugar and edible oil are still higher despite the drop in the price of fish, red meat and eggs.
Visiting several kitchen markets around the capital, finer variants of rice, Nazirshail and Miniket, were being sold at Tk74-Tk78 per kg at wholesale level, slightly lower than last week, but still retailed at Tk75-Tk80.
Paijam and Lata variants of rice were being sold at Tk58-60 per kg in wholesale, but Tk58-Tk62 in retail, while the coarse variant was sold at Tk57-Tk60.Fine rice was sold at up to Tk 95 a kg in the local market.
Likewise, prices of flour and coarse flour, according to Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), are on the rise in last few weeks. Prices of packaged coarse flour increased by 4 per cent to Tk 55-65 a kg over the past week while prices of packaged flour rose by 4 per cent to Tk 70-75 a kg.
Price of bottle soybean oil also saw a 1 per cent rise in the past week.
However, the decline of beef prices in recent times has triggered
subsequent decrease mutton and chicken prices in the capital’s kitchen markets.
Mutton prices have seen a reduction of Tk 100 per kg, while chicken prices have dropped by Tk 10 per kg at the retail level, as reported by the sellers in the capital’s kitchen markets in last seven days.
Visiting the kitchen markets in the capital’s New Market, Shantinagar, Shajahanpur and Malibagh on Thursday, it was seen that price of mutton, fishes, eggs decreased slightly following fall in price of beef to Tk 600 a kg.
White and brown eggs were being sold at Tk 120 or less per dozen, broiler chicken at Tk 120 a kg and sonali chicken at Tk 280-290 a kg.
Egg prices have seen a modest decrease of Tk 2 per hali (four pieces), settling at Tk 40-45 per hali this week, compared to Tk 42-45 per hali last week. However, the price of beef has remained stable at Tk 600-700 per kg, showing no further reduction this week.
Prices of onion, garlic and ginger remained more or less unchanged. Local varieties and imported onions were being sold at Tk 100-120 a kg.
Additionally, Prices of farm-produced fish decrease due to good supply.
At fish markets, Rui and Katla were being sold at the rate of Tk320-500 per kg depending on the size. Cultivated koi was at Tk280, but local koi was Tk600-800. Besides, pabda was Tk380, tilapia Tk250 and pangas Tk200 per kg.
