After rice, price of the second staple, wheat flour, also marked a hike again last week, intensifying woes of the commoners further.
Price of coarse flour or atta surged to Tk55-68 from Tk45-60 a kg while that of finer flour or maida to Tk65-75 a kg from Tk 58-68 a kg, according to grocers.
Flour millers-cum-importers raised the price in the name of dollar market volatility though global price went down to a six-month low.
Apart from flour, consumers also counted additional costs for sugar, potatoes, a few vegetables and spices.
Shafiqul Hasan, a wholesaler at Moulvibazar in the city, said they saw an increase of Tk300 in the price of a 50-kilogramme sack of atta and Tk200 rise in the price of maida over the past two weeks.
He also said the major automated mills in Narayanganj, Chattogram and other areas raised price by Tk5.0-7.0 a kg in the last two weeks.
He said TK, Akij, S Alam, Meghna, Bashundhara and all other big players have raised prices recently.
Wholesale rate of loose atta increased from Tk38-40 to Tk44-Tk 47, and maida from Tk52-55 to Tk58-60.
Packet atta and maida prices witnessed Tk5.0-8.0 a kg hike, said grocers.
State-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) confirmed a 14 per cent increase in the price of loose atta and 10 per cent rise in packed flour within two weeks.
Director of TK Group, Shafiul Atahar, attributed the price fluctuations to the rise in the value of US dollar over BDT, affecting wheat imports and subsequently influencing market prices.
However, he also admitted a reduction in global wheat price after a record hike during the beginning of Russia-Ukraine war.
Another official of an importer-cum-flour mill company said they are paying Tk122-124 for one dollar to open letter of credits (L/Cs) instead of Tk 111 set by the government.
"We are paying Tk 8.0-9.0 more for a dollar now than three months back," he claimed.
Value chain specialist Prof Rashidul Hasan from Bangladesh Agricultural University said global wheat prices have been showing a downtrend for the last one year. He said the market fell by 30 per cent in a year.
He added the surge in dollar price must have been compensated with such massive fall. Prices even witnessed US$ 60-70 per tonne fall in last six months, he said.
The government's agency concerned like Consumers Directorate (DNCRP) should seek cost sheets from the giant wheat flour companies who have absolute hold over the market--from import to retail, he said.
He also indicated that the country's annual demand for wheat is 7.0 -7.5 million tonnes of which the country hardly produces 1.0 million tonnes.
Almost an 80 per cent import dependence and government's faulty import policies have given opportunity to traders to become oligarchs, he added.
According to the global commodity web portal Business Insider, European wheat prices hit a one-year low US $ 244 (Euro 225) in October this year, which was $364 a tonne (Euro335) in the corresponding period of last year.
Bangladesh usually buys European wheat, especially from the East Europe.
It also imported a large chunk from India in recent years.
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