SHAHEEN MOLLAH

Prices of key daily essentials, including egg, vegetables, meat and fish, have risen sharply in Dhaka’s kitchen markets, putting pressure on consumers’ pockets ahead of Eid-ul-Azha.

Traders attributed the latest spike to seasonal rain, supply shortages, and growing Eid demand.

While visiting several retail and wholesale markets, including Shewrapara, Kazipara, Senpara, Karwan Bazar, Farmgate, and Mirpur-1, this correspondent yesterday found that prices of many daily essentials have continued to climb. Egg, vegetables, and spices are among the items with the steepest price hikes.

A dozen eggs were selling for Tk 150 in most kitchen markets, up from Tk 135-140 per dozen just a week ago.

Consumers said egg price started to increase after Ramadan and has been going up gradually since then.

Talking to The Daily Star, Ahmed Hossain, who works at a private organisation, said, “I became frustrated with the current price of a dozen eggs at a market in Mohammadpur. It was Tk 150, whereas it was Tk 130 only a couple of days ago.”

Chicken prices, however, were comparatively stable. Broiler chicken was selling for Tk 170-180 per kg yesterday, while Sonali chicken was priced between Tk 330 and Tk 350.

Over the past week, consumers have been paying at least Tk 10 more per kg for onions. Local onions cost Tk 45-50 a kg yesterday, which was Tk 35-40 a week ago.

Talking to The Daily Star, Abdul Hakim, a spice trader at Mirpur kitchen market, said wholesale prices went up sharply in recent days. “Earlier, we bought onions at Tk 30 a kg and sold them at Tk 33-35. Now we are buying them at Tk 40-42 a kg.”

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