Potato prices leap by 30pc

FE Report
Potato price jumped by 30 per cent while coarse rice prices dropped slightly in a week in the city's kitchen markets.
Vegetable prices showed a mixed trend as a few items witnessed a slight rise and some went down, retailers and traders said Friday.
Prices of other major commodities including meat, fish, milk, pulses, sugar, salt, flour, spices (excluding ginger and chilli), tea etc were stable last week compared with a week ago.
Maintaining a higher price range for the last couple of months, rice (coarse) prices witnessed a reduction in the market on Friday.
Coarse rice varieties witnessed a slight fall-by Tk1-2 per kg both at the retail and wholesale levels.
Shwarna variety, the leading coarse rice, price decreased to Tk34-36 (wholesale-retail) per kg on Friday from Tk36-38(wholesale-retail) per kg seven days back.
Hybrid varieties fell to Tk33-34 per kg at retail from 35-36 per kg seven days back.
Md Ibrahim, a retailer at Nowabganjbazar, located in the city's older part, told the FE that the price has reduced at the wholesale, helping to cut the price.
"I bought per sack (50 kg) Shwarna rice at Tk1710 today (Friday) from Babubazar wholesale, which was Tk 1750-1760 a week back," he said.
"Finer rice variety is still maintaining higher prices but we have been told by the traders that it might decrease after end of the current stock," he said.
Prices of finer rice varieties like Najirshail, Miniket and Paajam were hovering at Tk 54-57, Tk 48-54 and Tk 47-48 per kg respectively. Medium quality Brridhan-28 and Pariza prices were selling at Tk44-45 and Tk44-46 per kg respectively-almost same to the prices seven days back.   
Alim Uddin, a wholesaler at Kochukhet rice wholesale market, said prices started to fall at the mill-gates following beginning of Boro harvest in some parts of the country.
Millers are now unloading their stock, that helped reduce the price in the market, he said.
Price of potato increased by Tk4-5 per kg as granola variety was sold at Tk18-19 per kg, which was Tk14-15 seven days back-which indicates nearly a 30 per cent rise.
According to the Department of Agriculture Marketing (DAM), potato price in big cities including Dhaka and Chittagong is now more than 100 per cent higher than that of potato growing districts.
Prices of vegetable items increased or decreased by Tk 5-8 per kg in the last seven days.
Okra, pointed gourd, snake gourd, long bean, brinjal, bitter gourd prices reduced and were sold at Tk30-35, Tk30-35, Tk30-32, 45-50 and Tk30-35 respectively on the day.
Prices of local bean, cauliflower, radish, Papaya, green banana (kachkola) prices witnessed a 2-8 increase at per kg or per piece.
Chilli price decreased by Tk5 per kg and the produce was selling at Tk50-55 per kg.
Imported ginger almost disappeared while local variety went down significantly and was selling at Tk140-170 per kg at different kitchen markets-Tk25-30 per kg reduction in seven days.