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Prices of essentials still high in capital

Staff Correspondent
Khorshed Alam was inquiring about the price of aubergine from one shop to another at the Shukrabad kitchen market. As he finished, gloom overcame his face.
“The price is same as last week’s, when I bought one kilogram of aubergine forTk 100. We'll have no respite from the price spiral," he said, heaving a sigh.
"I wonder every time I come to buy vegetables during Ramadan as it seems the traders target this month for making quick profits," Alam, in his fifties, told this correspondent.
The same is echoed in the voice of other consumers. They struggle to understand why should the prices of essentials go up every Ramadan?
After marking an upward trend since the beginning of the fasting month, the prices of vegetables and other food items remained almost same this week with prices of few items coming down. Yet the high prices of daily essentials are takinga toll on low income people like Khorshed.
A kilogram of aubergine, used for a popular iftar item, of different varieties sold atTk 85 toTk 100 in different kitchen markets of the capital yesterday like last week. However, round-shaped aubergines were hardly seen in the markets yesterday.
Asked about the high prices, the retailers gave one answer unanimously—the demand for aubergine went up significantly during Ramadan and so was the price.
"The vegetable went up on short supply, as the demand jumped abnormally," said Asadul Islam, a vegetable seller at Shukrabad market.
Greengrocers have hiked prices of green chillies to Tk 80 from last week's Tk 75.
Shamsher Mia, a retailer at Hatirpool kitchen market, Said, “ I don't know why the price [of green chilli] is up."
Another retailer in the market blamed the wholesalers for the price hike.
The prices of cucumber, onion and tomato—widely consumed during Ramadan-and other vegetables like parwal, ladies finger, chichinga and kakrol are stable, too.
The prices of vegetables, however, varied from market to market. For example, cucumber was selling at Tk 30-35 in Karwan Bazar and at Tk 40 and above in Farmgate.
The price of bitter gourd has gone up sharply from Tk70toTk80.
At the Farmgate market, Solaiman Gazi, a buyer, said, "I won't buy more items just because of the high prices. In the space of two days, the price ofbittergourd has increasedbyTk 10."
"You see, there is an adequate supply of vegetables. Yet the vendors increased the prices as there is no government monitoring at all," he said.
The price of tomato went up by Tk 10 this week as a kilogram of tomato sold atTk 120 at different markets. Some retailers said the price might rise further.
At Karwan Bazar, a kilogramme of parwal sold at Tk 40 while chichinga sold forTk 50 toTk 60 and kakrol for Tk40.
There is no sign of reduction in the price of onion which has been marking an upward trend since the start of Ramadan. A kilogramme of locally produced onion was sold atTk 40 toTk42 while the price of Indian onion wasTk45 to Ik 46.
Retailers said the price might shoot up further as Eid-ul-Fitr was getting nearer.
The prices of fish remained stable, but it varied from market to market. At Karwan Bazar, a kilogramme of medium-sized Ruhi fish sold at Tk 250 to Tk 300, and the large ones atTk 350. The price of Katia fish was almost the same.
The price of hilsa fish marked a rise in the last few days. A big size hilsa was selling at Tk 1,000 while the medium ones were selling atTk 600 to Tk 700 at Karwan Bazar.