Prices of onion, sugar, and potato showed uptrend also on Saturday intensifying woes of the commoners already in a fix with unbearable inflationary pressure.
When the prices of edible oil have already been raised by the government by Tk9.0-18 a litre, onion price hit an eight-month high of Tk60-Tk 65 a kg on the day.
Prices of the key cooking spice has been rising though the government is claiming a record output of 3.8 million tonnes this year, observed market insiders.
The retail price of onion was Tk50-60 a kg two days back and Tk45-50 a week back, according to the groceries and the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB).
Last in October 2022, onion price reached maximum Tk65 a kg in the retail market, said the TCB.
However, the current prices are above 52 per cent higher than the corresponding period of last year.
Meanwhile, potato price showed a further hike as it was retailed at Tk40- 50 a kg depending on varieties, which was Tk35-40 two days back.
Potato showed a 35 per cent hike in prices just in last one and a half weeks while the current price is above 85 per cent higher than that a year ago, said TCB.
Traders and cold storage owners claimed that lower production of the carbohydrate-rich product has caused a surge in prices at farm level.
Azad Khan, a potato trader in Nilphamari, said production fell in the Rangpur, Rajshahi and Dhaka regions, forcing traders to stock the item in a large amount.
He said the newly-harvested cardinal variety was selling at Tk20-22 a kg at the farm level now which was Tk 16-18 a kg before Eid on April 22.
The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) also confirmed that potato production might fall this year to 9.0 million tonnes from 10.01 million tonnes last year amid a decline both in acreage and productivity.
Sugar market almost went out of control as the product was seen retailing at Tk 140-150 in loose form on Saturday, while visiting groceries in several city areas, the FE found.
The refiners have almost stopped supplying sugar to the distributors following a pending decision to raise the price officially which has come as a opportunity for the distributors to make windfall profits, Farid Hossain, a grocer at Madhubazar in Dhanmondi, said.
He said a distributor at Mohammadpur Krishi Market is charging Tk134 for per kg sugar.
"I'm out of sugar for last seven days," he said.
The Bangladesh Sugar Refiners Association (BSRA) last week sent a proposal to the government to raise prices of sugar by a rational rate as global sugar price hit record US $ 675 a tonne in April which was maximum $520 in February-March. However, the commerce ministry is likely to make an official announcement on sugar price today (Sunday), said a ministry official.
tonmoy.wardad@gmail.com
© 2026 - All Rights with The Financial Express
