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No let up in price hike

People suffer as unrest causes supply disruption for third day
SUKANTA HALDER
As consumers hit the markets yesterday amid the nationwide curfew, they had to pay higher prices due to supply of essentials -- rice, vegetables, eggs, etc. -- facing disruptions for the third consecutive day.
Transportation of perishable commodities to the capital remained scarce, hiking the prices.
Jashim Uddin, a resident of Farmgate’s Tejturibazar, said he had to pay a lot higher for vegetables and fishes at the local market.
“The traders say they had to hike the prices as they are not getting enough supply. How can we afford to pay the extra in these trying times?” he asked.
Khaled Mia, a resident of the Pallabi area, echoed him.
The supply shortage has increased prices of fish such as hilsa, rui, katla, and some others by Tk 180 to Tk 250 per kg, said Awlad Hossain, a fish trader at Hatirpool kitchen market.
Rahidul Islam, a wholesaler at Mahasthan Bazar, one of the biggest wholesale markets in Bogura, said they cannot send fresh farm produce to Dhaka and other major cities due to the unavailability of trucks.
“Even, when one is available, we have to pay thrice the fare we used to pay,” he said, adding that he had to pay Tk 60,000 for a truck which used to be only Tk 20,000 before the unrest.
“Drivers are unwilling to move in fear of attacks,” he said.
Due to the crisis, most farmers are not bringing their produce to the market, he said.
“Vegetables are rotting in the fields, and we can’t do anything about it,” he added.
Sabbir Nasir, executive director of ACI logistics, which owns supermarket retail chain Shawapno, said the unrest is hurting their business.
“Sales have dropped by 30 to 35 percent since Thursday,” he said, adding that 48 out of their 483 outlets were closed across the country yesterday.
Nasir said Shawapno’s internal supply chain for product delivery across the country started operating in a limited scale yesterday.
Unimart, another supermarket chain, yesterday opened its eight outlets for only one and a half hours from noon, said its chief executive Murtoza Zaman.
He said the decision was taken due to supply chain disruption, alongside several of their staffers being hurt in the unrest.
The unrest has also affected the supply chain of country’s biggest commodity importers and processors.
Bishawjit Saha, head of corporate affairs of City Group, said, “We couldn’t supply any product yesterday due to unavailability of drivers.”
Taslim Shahriar, deputy general manager at Meghna Group, said they could resume limited scale delivery of goods yesterday following a hiatus of two days.
Safiul Atahar Taslim, finance director at TK Group, said they are trying hard to keep the supply of goods as usual.
Since Wednesday, their supply dropped 30 percent, he added.