Beef relief coinciding with the electioneering seems to have fizzled out.
Now with the red meat prices spiralling for over a week, consumers face a fresh squeeze as prices for other protein sources -- both animal-and plant-based -- have also seen sharp increases.
Dhaka kitchen markets show significant price rises across the board, impacting chickens, eggs, fish and pulses.
This comes just after the national election held on January 7, as beef prices surged by Tk 50 a kg initially, followed by another Tk 70-100 per kg jump in the past ten days, according to city meat shops.
Many shops that previously maintained the Bangladesh Dairy Farmers Association's Tk 650 a kg rate abandoned it, allowing the red meat to jump to Tk 700-750 a kg.
Enyaet Ali, a Rayerbazar meat shop owner, said that selling lower-quality meat with higher bone and fat content is no longer viable due to a lack of demand.
He also claimed that live cattle prices have increased by 25-30 per cent since the election, with rearers holding onto animals in anticipation of upcoming Ramadan and Eids.
Labelling the falling beef prices in November last year as "a sick competition to sell inedible parts of the cattle", President of the Bangladesh Meat Traders Association Md Rabiul Alam also said that cattle prices were on the rise. He too said that cattle rearers were holding onto animals for the upcoming Ramadan and Eids.
Chicken prices have similarly spiked, with broiler chicken reaching Tk 210-220 a kg -- a Tk 30 increase in just one and a half weeks. Pakistani and Sonali chicken varieties have also seen rises of Tk 40-50 per kg.
Faridul Alam, a Jigatola vendor, linked the rise in chicken prices to a Tk 20-22 per kg farm-level increase in the past week and a half, coupled with reduced supply due to heavy fog and chilling winter.
Besides, the poultry industry pointed the finger at high production costs for the chicken price hike.
Bangladesh Poultry Association president Sumon Hawladar cited soaring day-old-chick prices, which have jumped from Tk 30-38 to Tk 72-78 in recent months, pushing production costs up to Tk 190-195 per kg and leaving farmers with a meagre profit margin of Tk 3.0-4.0 per kg.
Cultured ruhi, katla, tilapia, pangas and other varieties also soared again by Tk 30 a kg to Tk 80 a kg following the beef hike, said Habibur Rahman Mandal, a fish vendor at Mohammad-pur Krishi Market.
Plant proteins like lentil pulses showed a Tk 10-20 a kg hike during the period, making those more costlier for the commoners.
Value chain expert Prof Dr Rashidul Hasan said a fall in beef prices helped ease the cost of all protein items between mid-November and December last year.
And now a hike in it, again impacting other items, he said.
He said millions of families might be forced to cut their intake of proteins who already have lost their real income, following tectonic inflation.
He said market regulation is too weak in the country to have control over manipulation by traders.
The ministries of commerce, agriculture, fisheries and livestock and home should work in a collaborative way to bring a check and balance in the market, he added.
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