Vegetable prices go up after Eid

The prices of vegetables and edible oils rose in the last seven days, intensifying consumers' woes.

Almost all types of vegetables became costlier after the Eid-ul-Fitr vacation.

Visiting various markets in the capital on Friday, it was found that most vegetables were selling for around Tk 60-100 a kg, Tk 10-a-kg hike in a week and Tk 20 a kg in the last two weeks.

Vegetable sellers said the current supply in the market is lower than demand.

"Most winter vegetables have run out, while many summer ones are still scarce in the market. This has led to the price hike," Md Arefin Hoque, a vegetable trader at the Beribadh-Reayer Bazar wholesale market, said.

At the Rayer Bazar retail market, colocasia stems, bitter gourd, ridge gourd, sponge gourd, and snake gourd were being sold at Tk 80-120 a kg; pointed gourd, lady's finger, and cucumber at Tk 60-80 a kg; and tomato at Tk 50-60 a kg.

Papaya was the cheapest veggie at Tk 40-50 a kg.

At the retail level, the prices of local onions increased by Tk 5.0 a kg, selling at Tk 40-50 a kg.

The prices of potatoes, green chilli, ginger, garlic, and other staples remained unchanged.

Meanwhile, there is an ongoing shortage of soybean oil in the market. Although the official price has not increased compared to before, many shops are out of stock.

As a result, some sellers are charging Tk 5.0-10 a litre more than the maximum retail price (MRP) printed on the bottle.

The shops where oil is available do not have it in the desired quantity. For instance, some stores have five-litre bottles but no one- or two-litre ones.

In some shops, the price has increased from the MRP of Tk 175 a litre to Tk 180-185 a litre.

Abdul Wahed, a grocer at Mohammadpur Krishi Market, said, "The refiners are not supplying oil. Their distributors have not been accepting orders since Eid."

Md Lemon, manager of a grocery store in Hatirpool, said, "After Eid, we received only two cartons of two-litre bottles from a distributor of a refiner, despite ordering ten cartons of one-litre and two-litre bottles each."

He also said, "They [refiners] will not supply more until the price is increased. We will get new stocks only after the new rates are set."

Refiners proposed a sudden increase of Tk 18 per litre in soybean oil prices following the re-imposition of 10 per cent VAT from April 1.

Earlier, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) exempted the VAT in December 2024, which expired on March 31.

Even after two rounds of meetings at the commerce ministry last week, no decision has been made on the price hike of edible oil.

On the last working day (March 27) before the Eid holidays, the refiners' association sent a letter to the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC), stating that the price of bottled soybean oil would be Tk 193 a litre from April 1.

According to the letter, the price per litre might rise by Tk 18 if the government approves.

However, the official permission for the increase has not yet been granted, according to the commerce ministry.

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