Prices of potato, vegetables, egg, onion and some other commodities surged in the past week, subsequent to the havoc wreaked by Cyclone Remal that hit Bangladesh on May 26 and 27.
The agriculture ministry's initial report indicates that nearly 0.18 million hectares of farmland were affected by the cyclone, with vegetables accounting for a significant portion on over 54,000 hectares across 48 districts.
Vegetable vendors and traders have reported substantial damage to crops, leading to supply disruption and price hike of Tk10-20 a kg for some items.
Tomatoes were sold at Tk80-100 a kg on Friday in the city against Tk60-80 a kg earlier.
Similar increases were observed regarding bottle gourd, ash gourd, brinjal, papaya, and cucumber.
Brinjal retailed at Tk70-100 a kg, papaya Tk60-80 a kg, teasel gourd Tk 90-110 a kg, eddo at Tk110-130 a kg and a medium-sized bottle gourd at Tk60-80 apiece.
Md Ilias Hossain, a vendor at Mohammadpur Krishi Market, blamed the cyclone for the significant losses in vegetable production in several districts.
However, prices of pointed gourd, sponge gourd, snake gourd, ridge gourd, and bitter gourd remained relatively static at Tk60-70 per kg.
The potato market presented a different scenario.
While retail prices have risen notably from Tk50-55 to Tk 60-70 a kg in Mohammadpur Krishi Market, traders attribute this increase to rising cost in the cold storages.
Rayerbazar-based trader Azizur Rahman said that the cost of wholesale potatoes from cold storage gates is already Tk45 kg rising from Tk38 a kg a few days back.
Green chillies have seen a steeper price hike, reaching Tk200-240 a kg on Friday.
Traders blamed a supply shortage due to low yields as well as almost halt in imports, effectively doubling the price within a month.
The egg price has also witnessed a steady rise. Eggs are currently selling at Tk155-165 a dozen.
On the other hand, the meat market remains almost static maintaining the previous highs.
Broiler chicken price ranges from Tk210 to Tk230 a kg while Pakistani/Sonali is priced at Tk380-400 a kg.
Beef and mutton prices remain steady at Tk780-850 and Tk1150-1200 a kg respectively.
Prices of rice, fish, lentils, and flour remain static while onion prices have risen by Tk10 a kg.
Onions were retailed at Tk75-85 a kg while garlic (both domestic and imported) and ginger have seen notable increases of Tk20-30 a kg in a week.
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