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Onion Tk 110 a kg

Eerie political climate sparks panic buying

Sajjadur Rahman
MA Aziz usually buys five kilograms of onion at a time. But yesterday, he could afford to buy just two kg of onion at the capital’s Karwan Bazar, thanks to the rocketing prices of essentials.
The prices have shot up as many people were panicbuying essentials like rice,
edible oil, pulses, lentils, eggs and meat, fearing political uncertainty and unrest ahead.
Frequent price hike of essentials weighs heavily on the customers, who are on fixed income group, as they find it really difficult to maintain their families. Some of them are even forced to cut their consumption.
Onion, which was sold for Tk 25 per kg three months ago, is now selling at Tk 110 to Tk 115 as of yesterday. On Friday, it was sold at Tk 100 a kg in the retail market.
The skyrocketing prices of commodities are taking a heavy toll on the traders too.
Mohammad Alauddin, 50, a wholesaler at Karwan Bazar, said the wholesale price of onion yesterday reached to Tk 4,100 per maund (40kg) from Tk 3,700 to Tk 3,800 a day ago. This has impacted his sale.
Prices of vegetables, be it potatoes, tomatoes, brinjals or bitter gourd, have also witnessed a fresh hike by Tk 5 to Tk 10 per kg at different kitchen markets in the city yesterday.
However, prices of fish and meat were steady, but sellers feared they would rise with the disruption in supplies during the three-day hartal beginning today.
Vegetable vendors attributed this unusual rise in prices to poor supply and untimely rains.
No vegetable was selling at less than Tk 40 a kg in any of the capital's kitchen markets yesterday. Potatoes were selling at Tk 15 to Tk 18 a kg while the price of tomatoes increased by Tk 10, to Tk 100 per kg, in the last two days.
The price of okra (lady's finger), which sold at Tk 40 a kg on Friday, shot up to Tk 60 yesterday. Brinjal and bitter gourd were selling at over Tk50akg.
Sugar was selling at Tk 48 a kg at the retail market while edible oil at Tk 116 to Tk 120 per litre. A dozen eggs were being sold at Tk 90 while broiler chicken atTk 120 per kg.
Prices of rice, however, have been quite steady over the last few months.