Relief on Eggs and Vegetables, But Rice, Lentils and Oil Keep Household Costs High in Dhaka

With the first touch of winter, supplies of new vegetables have begun rising in Dhaka’s markets and prices have started to ease. Egg prices have also fallen as supplies normalised. Buyers squeezed by long-rising prices are getting some relief, but higher prices for rice, lentils, oil and flour are standing in the way of that relief.

Visits on Friday morning (23 October) to Karwan Bazar, Mohammadpur, New Market and Hazaribagh markets, and conversations with buyers and sellers, showed winter vegetables arriving and some prices easing, while rice, lentils, oil, flour and other daily essentials remained expensive.

Aubergine is now selling at Tk 70 to 90 per kg depending on quality. Bitter gourd is Tk 70 to 80, local carrot Tk 100 to 120, snake gourd Tk 60, yardlong bean Tk 70 to 80, okra Tk 60, sweet pumpkin Tk 40, green papaya Tk 30, pointed gourd Tk 70 and taro Tk 60 per kg.

Tomato is Tk 160 to 180 depending on quality, teasel gourd Tk 70 to 80, sponge gourd Tk 60 and green chilli Tk 150 per kg. Each ash gourd and bottle gourd sells for Tk 60 to 80 depending on size, radish around Tk 70, early winter beans Tk 120 to 140, and cauliflower and cabbage average Tk 50 to 60 per piece depending on size.

Good supplies have cut broiler chicken prices by Tk 5 to 10 compared with last week. Broiler now sells at Tk 170 to 180 per kg, down from Tk 190 last week. Sonali chicken is Tk 300 to 320 per kg, beef Tk 800 and mutton Tk 1,200.

Alongside chicken, egg prices have also eased slightly. Red farm eggs were Tk 150 a dozen last week and are now Tk 140, down Tk 10. White farm eggs have fallen from Tk 140 a dozen last week to Tk 130 this week.

Fish prices, however, remain as high as last week. Medium farmed rohu sells at Tk 350 to 380 per kg, catla at Tk 300 to 450 depending on size, kalibaus at Tk 500 to 700, farmed pangas at Tk 250 to 260, tilapia at Tk 250 to 300 and medium koi at Tk 200 to 250.

Local shing sells at Tk 600 to 700, large pabda at Tk 400, prawn at Tk 800 to 1,000, local mixed small fish at Tk 600 to 700, mola at Tk 600 to 700, tengra at Tk 500 to 600, rupchanda at Tk 1,400 to 1,500, boal at Tk 700 to 900, batasi at Tk 1,400 to 1,600, kajoli at Tk 1,200 to 1,800 and bele fish at Tk 900 to 1,200 per kg.

Despite relief on vegetables, rice, flour and refined flour prices have risen slightly. Rice rose by Tk 1 to 3 per kg two weeks ago and has not come down since. Nazirshail and miniket rice sell at Tk 70 to 90 per kg depending on quality, paijam, BRRI-28 and BRRI-29 at Tk 58 to 65, and coarse rice at Tk 50 to 55.

Loose flour sells at Tk 48 to 50 per kg and packaged flour at Tk 65 to 70. According to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), loose flour prices rose 2 percent and packaged flour 8 percent in the past month. Loose refined flour rose 3.70 percent and packaged refined flour 6 percent, with loose refined flour now at Tk 70 per kg and packaged at Tk 85 to 90.

Chickpea prices have also risen to Tk 110 to 125 per kg depending on quality, up from Tk 100 to 110 last week. Large-grain masoor lentil is Tk 90 to 100 per kg, small-grain masoor Tk 150 to 160 and anchor dal Tk 60 to 75. Local onion is Tk 55 to 60 per kg, local garlic Tk 140 to 150 and local ginger Tk 150 to 160. Bottled soybean oil is Tk 210 per litre and Tk 410 for a two-litre bottle.

Buyers welcomed lower vegetable and egg prices but said overall market costs are not falling because of rice, flour, refined flour, lentils, chickpeas and edible oil. Private employee Rifad Hasan, shopping at Karwan Bazar, said the savings on vegetables and eggs are offset by unchanged or higher prices elsewhere. Housewife Tania Akter at Mohammadpur Krishi Market said the same amount of money now buys fewer goods than before.

Sellers say seasonal vegetable supplies are bringing some prices down. Karwan Bazar vegetable seller Mofidul Islam said winter vegetables have started arriving and supplies are rising, with a chance of further falls as supplies grow. New Market grocer Hasan Sikder said normal egg supplies brought relief, but rice, flour, refined flour, lentils, chickpeas and oil are hard to cheapen because wholesale buying prices remain high. Buyers say real relief will not return until the overall price of daily essentials becomes tolerable.