Weekly Kitchen Market: Price of veg remains high, onion unstable

Muhammad Ayub Ali :

Onion prices in Dhaka remain stubbornly high despite adequate supply and the arrival of early-season bulbs with fresh leaves.

Traders say these new onions usually a sign of declining prices have begun appearing in several markets, and they expect greater supply next week to ease the situation.

However, despite the ample supply of winter vegetables in the market, yet overall prices have not stabilised. Most items have increased by Tk 20–50 per kg over the past week.

During market visits on Friday morning, old onions were selling at Tk 110–120 per kg, up from Tk 70–80 just two weeks ago. New-season bulbs were priced at Tk 80–100 per kg.

Jatrabari trader Arif Hossain noted that onion leaves are already available and chopped onions will follow soon, making further price hikes unlikely.

To tame the volatile market, the government has hinted at allowing limited onion imports if prices do not settle. Already, 2,800 firms have applied for import permits. The commerce ministry says it will approve applications carefully to avoid hurting farmers during the seasonal harvest.

Winter produce such as cauliflower, cabbage, beans, radish, turnip, and new brinjal is now widely available. Cauliflower and cabbage are selling for Tk 30–50, beans for Tk 70–80, brinjal for Tk 60–70, radish for Tk 40–60, turnip for Tk 60–80, and raw tomatoes for Tk 80–100 per kg.

The incoming winter supply has pushed down prices of summer vegetables. Papaya is selling for Tk 30–40, patol for Tk 40–60, and pumpkin and gourd for around Tk 50 each. Bitter gourd stands at Tk 60–70 per kg.

Protein prices have also eased slightly. Farm eggs have fallen by Tk 10–20 per dozen and now cost Tk 130–140, down from Tk 150 last month. Sellers say egg prices typically decrease when vegetable prices soften.

Vendor Md Rakib Hasan attributed the higher prices to the early stage of the winter harvest. “New winter vegetables always cost more initially. Once supply increases, prices will drop. Out-of-season items will naturally stay expensive,” he said.

For consumers, however, the rising cost of essentials is becoming harder to manage.
Afzal Hossain, who runs a student hostel, said, “Prices aren’t falling. My income is fixed, but expenses keep going up. I’m losing money every month.”

Another shopper added, “Whether it’s new or old vegetables, everything is expensive. The pressure on us grows every day.”