DINAJPUR, Aug 29: Consumers in the district have cut down their volumes of essential items including onion, garlic chilli, and ginger due to their reduced purchasing capacities.
In kitchen markets, sales of these daily commodities are taking place in Poa (250 grams) instead of kg (1,000 grams).
In addition to the purchasing capacity crunch, higher prices have made consumers compelled to reduce their buying volumes. It was told by general consumers in Dinajpur.
Following social repercussions over the abnormal price hikes of all essentials, potato, ginger, garlic and chilli are facing a standstill for the last one week. But the price of onion has gone up.
Sellers are blaming the production fall, increased import cost and supply-side constraint for rising price conditions of the essential items.
Onion price registered a Tk 20 jump-up per kilogram (kg) on Sunday in Dinajpur bazaars. Vegetable prices are maintaining the standstill for the last one week.
At present, Indian onion is selling at Tk 70 per kg at Bahadur Bazar in the district town while local one at Tk 90. Two days back, both these onion varieties were selling at Tk 50 and 70 respectively.
Per kg ginger is selling at Tk 280, garlic at Tk 240, and chilli at Tk 200.
Per kg bitter gourd is selling at Tk 80-100, tomato at Tk 160-200, flat and long beans at Tk 80, radish at Tk 60, arum root at Tk 70, arum lube at Tk 80, okara at Tk 40, sponge gourd at Tk 60, snake gourd at Tk 60, cucumber at Tk 60, cabbage (per piece) at Tk 80, drum stick at Tk 200, bottle gourd (per piece) at Tk 40-50, ash gourd (per piece) at Tk 40-50, papaya at Tk 35, sweet pumpkin (per piece) at Tk 50 and pointed gourd at Tk 35-40.
Potato price has stood at Tk 37-70 per kg at the wholesale level. Esoteric granula (white) and cardinal (red) potatoes are selling at Tk 37. Local varieties are selling at Tk 50. Gurar Pakri and Jalpai varieties are selling at Tk 70. But at the retail level, these are selling at a higher rate of Tk 5-10 per kg.
Seller Noor Mohammad said, it does not matter whether the production is good or bad, and the import is high or less, the price is increasing; it has been a practice. There will be no remedy, he added.
He further said, "If the price is cheaper, we feel satisfaction to sell."
"We are now selling in Poa volume. Customers are also purchasing in Poa," he maintained.
Consumer Nazmul Islam Nayan said, "Our bargains will not work. We will have to purchase at the asking price of sellers. Those who are under duty to monitor bazaars they are not doing it properly. It has made the bazaars unstable."
Another Liton Hossain Akash said, sellers are used to raise prices wilfully. If people stop purchasing things at higher prices, then traders will bring down prices, he added.
