Nor’westers, upcoming Ramadan hit vegetable market

FT ONLINE

Prices of vegetables increased significantly in the capital’s kitchen market over the week, hitting the common people hard.

Some traders attributed the hike to the upcoming Ramadan, while others said blamed a series of nor'westers in the past few days that damaged vegetables in many districts.

Visits to different markets, including Karwan Bazar, revealed that the price of eggplants, which sold for Tk 30–40 a kg last week, has almost doubled to Tk 60–70. Last week, spiny gourd were selling for Tk 80–90 a kg, but its price has been down by Tk 30 this week.

Prices of papaya and eggplant rose abruptly. Prices of onions, groundnuts, potatoes and eggs have remained unchanged. Egg prices have risen sharply over the past couple of weeks. Eggs were being sold for Tk 30–32 a ‘hali’ (four pieces).

A vegetable vendor at Karwan Bazar said wholesale vegetable prices had been showing a rising trend for the last few days.

A wholesaler said supplies had been disrupted due to heavy rain and nor'westers that struck various parts of the country.

Prices of summer vegetables and some spices also soared from last week. Snake gourd and ridge gourd sold for Tk 60–80, sponge gourd for Tk 70–80, bitter

gourd for Tk 55–70 and local bean for Tk 50–60 per kg in the city markets yesterday, registering a hike of Tk 20–25 in seven days.

The price of green chili increased to Tk 80–100 a kg at the retail level from Tk 60–80.

Buyers expressed concern over the price hike. They were particularly surprised by the prices of papaya and eggplants. “There is no stability in the market,” one of them lamented.

Although the prices of papaya, eggplants and spiny gourd were high, those of other vegetables were normal as in last week. Tomatoes were being sold at Tk 25–30 a kg. Cucumbers were selling for Tk, 20–25 a kg and carrots for Tk 25. The price of a small-sized pumpkin was Tk 25–30.

Last week, turnips had been sold for Tk 20–25, while red spinach, green spinach and leafy vegetables were sold for Tk 5–10.