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The price of rice and flour on the market has been rising for the last few weeks, as well as other essentials like eggs, poultry, and vegetables with no let up in sight.
According to the state-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), the price of finer variants of rice (miniket/nazir) experienced a 14.29% monthly hike to Tk80 per kg as of June 25, which was Tk70 to Tk75 last week, and Tk68 last month.
The “paizam” and “lata” variants also experienced a 13.73% monthly hike to Tk64 per kg, which was Tk62 last week, and Tk46 toTk56 last month.
The coarse variant, which the middle and lower-income groups rely on primarily, also registered a monthly hike in the price of 8.6% to Tk53 per kg, which was Tk48 to Tk52 per kg last week, and Tk45 a month ago, the TCB data said.
Meanwhile, the government on June 22 (Wednesday) reduced the duty on rice imports in an attempt to meet the local demand and stabilize the market.
According to the SRO issued by NBR, the rice import duty has been reduced to zero from 25% whereas the regulatory duty has been reduced to 10% from 25% meaning the total tariff on rice imports has come down to 25% from 62.5%.
The revised rate will be effective from June 22 to October 31 this year and the importer must need the permission of the Ministry of Food to get the approval for this duty exemption, said the NBR.
The abnormal hike in the price of flour (atta and maida) has exacerbated the plight of the middle-and-lower-income groups as the prices of alternative rice have also risen sharply and have already surpassed the price of rice in some cases.
The price of packed atta saw a 10.53% monthly hike in price to Tk55 per kg, which was Tk48 in the last week and Tk45 in the last month.
The loose flour saw a monthly hike in the price of 8.7% to Tk65 per kg, which was Tk60-Tk65 last week and Tk55 last month.
The price of packed flour also registered a monthly hike of 4.62% to Tk70 per kg, which was Tk65 last week, and Tk62 last month.
The local onions experienced a 25% monthly hike in price to Tk55 per kg, which was Tk45 last week and Tk35 last month.
The imported variant is sold at Tk55 per kg.
Though the government fixed the price of cooking oil at Tk997 for a five-litre bottle and Tk205 for a one-litre bottle on June 9, most of the shops were taking Tk1000 for five litres and Tk210 for one litre.
Meanwhile, the price of crude soybean oil dropped by 22.18% to Tk130.28 per litre on June 17 earlier, compared to Tk167.42 a month back in the global market.
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Argentina is the main source of commodities in the case of Bangladesh.
However, the price of soybean oil in the Bangladesh market is showing no sign of going down as the price of a five-litre soybean oil container is selling for nearly Tk1,000.
Moreover, demand for dry food is on the rise due to the deteriorating flood situation in the northeastern region of the country and in this situation, the traders have increased the prices of chira, molasses and puffed rice.
According to the information from Karwan Bazar, Shah Ali market of Mirpur, and Hatirpool kitchen market, the price of chira, molasses, and puffed rice have gone up at both wholesale and retail levels.
Retails also said that the demand for dry food is high due to the flood season and in this regard, the millers have increased the prices of these items and they have nothing to do here.
While visiting the market, red and white chira were being sold at Tk70 per kg at the wholesale level and Tk80 at the retail level, which was at Tk60 and Tk70 last week, respectively.
The price of molasses also hiked to Tk160 per kg, which was Tk110-120 last week. Puffed rice is sold at Tk65 per kg which was Tk60 last week.
Md Rasel, a salesperson of Amzad Traders of Karwan Bazar, said that the supply is less than the demand for dry food in the market and therefore the prices have gone up at an unusual rate.
“Millers have increased the prices of chira, molasses and puffed rice, we have nothing to do here,” he added.
Among the other products, the poultry and eggs experienced a fresh hike in price due to limited supply.
Poultry was sold at Tk160-Tk180 per kg in various markets where eggs were sold at Tk123 per dozen.
The price of veggies has also seen a hike. Chichinga, jinge, and dhundal were sold at Tk50 to Tk60 per kg, which was Tk40 to Tk50 per kg last week.
The price of lady’s finger, patal, and papaya also saw a hike of at least Tk10 per kg to Tk40-Tk50 per kg.
Tomato, cucumber and brinjal experienced a hike of Tk15 to Tk25 per kg to Tk140, Tk80, and Tk70 per kg, respectively, whereas potato prices also went up by Tk5 per kg to Tk30.
(DT)
