Rain, floods keep vegetables on edge

Persistent rainfall and flooding in parts of the country have kept the prices of essential commodities volatile, with green chilli emerging as the biggest source of consumer concern after soaring to Tk400 per kilogramme, while onions, eggs and most vegetables have also become costlier.

A visit to the capital's Shantinagar and Segunbagicha kitchen markets on Friday found that vegetable prices remained elevated for nearly two weeks, with most items selling at around Tk100 per kg despite slight declines in a few varieties.

Green chilli was selling at Tk400 per kg, equivalent to Tk40 per 100 grammes and Tk100 per 250 grammes. Customers buying half a kilogramme or more could receive discounts of Tk20-30.

Bulu Mia, a trader at Segunbagicha market, said green chilli prices had risen by Tk100 per kg within a week.

"Green chilli was sold at Tk280-300 per kg last week. A week before that, the price was Tk180-200," he said.

Onion prices have also climbed sharply. Local onions, which sold for Tk40-45 per kg around two weeks ago depending on quality, were selling for Tk55-65 on Friday. Even four days earlier, the same onions were available at Tk50-60 per kg.

Enamul Haque, a trader at Shantinagar market, attributed the increase to rising wholesale prices.

"An onion that we sold for Tk40 a week ago now has to be sold for Tk60. Selected, good-quality onions from Pabna are being sold for as much as Tk65 per kg," he said.

Vegetable prices have remained high since the beginning of the month due to continuous rainfall and flooding in some areas, although prices of a few items have eased slightly.

Long eggplants were selling for Tk120-150 per kg, while round black eggplants were priced at Tk180 and white eggplants at Tk140 per kg. Prices varied by Tk10-20 depending on quality and market.

Ridge gourd and pointed gourd registered modest declines, selling at Tk60-80 per kg compared with around Tk100 previously.

Bitter gourd was selling for Tk120-140 per kg, arum root Tk80-100, yardlong beans Tk110-130 and snake gourd Tk90-100.

Rafiqul Islam, a vegetable seller at Segunbagicha market, said prices of two or three vegetables had fallen slightly, but eggplant and several other items had become more expensive over the past week.

The price of farm eggs also increased slightly.

A dozen eggs were selling for Tk145-150, up from Tk135-140 a week ago. A month earlier, the same eggs were available at Tk120-130 per dozen.
Chicken prices, however, remained relatively stable. Broiler chicken was selling for Tk180-190 per kg, while Sonali chicken was priced at Tk330-340 per kg.