Wholesale prices of chick-pea fall on less demand

FE Team | Published: September 01, 2008 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

FE Report brThe prices of chick-pea are continuing to fall in the wholesale markets mainly due to the fall in demand, importers and wholesalers told the FE Sunday.brThe prices of the major Iftar item fell by Tk 4.0 a kg at the wholesale level to Tk 44. brThe price of the item was Tk 48 a kg during the second week of August and Tk 60 a kg during the previous Ramadan.brHowever, the prices hovered between Tk 54 and Tk 55 a kg at the retail level.brAbul Bashar, chairman of the leading importer Masud and Brothers at Khatoonganj in Chittagong, told the FE that they were being forced to sell the item below the import cost as there was less demand for it.brHe said 'We think the consumer spending has fallen this year and this is the major reason behind the decline in demand.'brKamal Uddin Ahmed, chief of market monitoring committee of the FBCCI, said 'I can't say why the demand has fallen, maybe, the consumers are buying less this year.'brWholesalers said the import cost of chick-pea was Tk 56 a kg.br'I learnt from sources at Khatoonganj, Moulavibazar and Rahmatganj that the prices of chick-peas fell by more than Tk 100 a maund over the past few days and there is no possibility of a further rise in the price of the item during Ramadan,' Kamal Uddin added.brOne commission agent Shamsul Hoque said the retailers are not buying the commodity in bulk fearing that the prices of the item may fall further.brBangladesh Dal Somity president Shafi Mahmud said the volume of sales has declined this year and there is sufficient stocks of chick-peas in the markets. brHe also said 'We were too much busy the previous time, but now we are almost idle.'brThe prices of husked pea, locally called 'Motor Dal' declined by Tk 2.0 a kg over the past few days. The item was sold at Tk 29 a kg a couple of days back, traders said. brHowever, its prices remained static in the wholesale markets. brBangladesh mainly imports chick-pea from Australia and Myanmar and its annual demand is around 80,000 tonnes.brBut the month of Ramadan witnesses around 50 per cent of the demand.