The prices of egg, onion and potato have increased again in the last one week, further exacerbating the woes of the common people.
According to market sources, the prices of most other essential items have remained at their previous highs.
Meanwhile, finance minister Abul Hasan Mahmud Ali on Thursday presented in parliament the proposed budget for fiscal year 2024-25 at a time when the runaway inflation has hit hard people on low incomes.
However, commodity market experts said there was hardly any initiative to reduce the prices of daily necessities in the budget.
Meanwhile, a dozen eggs were sold at Tk 160-168 in the markets and groceries in the city on Friday.
The price of a single egg shot up to Tk 14, which was Tk 13 a week ago and Tk 10.5 a month ago, according to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB).
Potato prices have been unusually high since last year.
Stored cardinal, diamant varieties of potatoes are now being sold at Tk 60-70 per kg in the market, up from Tk 50-60 a week ago.
Jalil Uddin, a potato and local spice vendor at Rayerbazar, said the price of potato might not ease this year because of lower production.
He said cold storage price increased to Tk 50-52 while city wholesales are charging Tk 55-58 a kg.
Shibu Kumar Saha, a spice and vegetable trader at Beribandh in the city, said imports could help ease prices.
But import is currently stopped due to surge in prices in India as well as difficulties in sourcing US dollar, he said.
Meanwhile, the price of onion has been increasing every day in the country.
The key kitchen spice is being retailed at Tk 85-90 a kg, up by Tk 10 a kg in the last week and Tk 30-35 a kg in a month.
Basharul Alam, onion trader at Shyambazar wholesale outlet, said there was an increased demand for onion in the market ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, slated for June 17 or 18.
Although there is an opportunity to import onions from India, the country has set a minimum export price of $550 per tonne and also has higher export taxes, according to him.
He further said that it would cost a minimum of Tk 90 per kg to import onions from India currently, which has been discouraging Bangladeshi traders from importing.
He said local production is now dominating the market.
Meanwhile, the price of ginger and garlic also increased further by Tk 20-30 a kg as both are being sold at Tk 240 to Tk 280 a kg.
However, the impact of the budget was yet to be observed in the market as of on Friday.
Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) secretary Humayun Kabir Bhuiyan, said except for a reduction in import duties for powdered milk, the budget mentions hardly anything on daily essential commodities market.
He said it was an urgent need to take initiatives to reduce the price of products.
Ali Newaj, a grocer at Mohammadpur Townhall Market, said they have heard about a decline in import duty on powdered milk.
He said the impact might be seen in the market in one month with supply of new packets and jars.
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