DWAIPAYAN BARUA and JAGARAN CHAKMA

Amid long queues at refuelling stations, trucks carrying perishable vegetables, food items and factory raw materials are charging at least Tk 5,000 more than pre-war rates per trip to Dhaka from different parts of the country.

These higher transport costs risk pushing up production expenses and the price of kitchen staples, a ripple effect of the US-Israel war on Iran.

Despite reports of a fuel shortage, disrupted international supplies and panic buying nationwide, authorities said there was no serious shortfall. The government has also repeatedly said that it has no plan to raise fuel prices.

Officials say any upward adjustment of fuel prices would drive up the cost of essentials, adding to a years-long period of stubbornly high inflation.

But delays at pumps are already inflating transport costs, threatening the price relief the government is attempting to provide.

Md Islam, a vegetable supplier sending produce to wholesale markets in Dhaka from northern district Thakurgaon, said everything had become more expensive after the war.

Islam said that he used to pay around Tk 24,000 for a medium to large truck to Dhaka, but After