Soaring food prices rewrite new records every week

In an unbridled surge, prices of essential food items such as chicken, onion, green chilli and potato have seen an increase ranging from Tk 10 to Tk 40 per kilogram in just the past few days, consistently rewriting the price charts almost every week.
Traders attribute this steep price rise to low production and disruptions in the supply chain, in direct contradiction to the government-set price caps.
In response, consumer rights advocates call for heightened market monitoring and enforcement of severe penalties against profiteering and price manipulation.
On Sunday, the prices of chicken, onion, green chilli and potato climbed once again, exacerbating the already unbearable woes faced by the consumers.
Broiler chicken prices have increased by Tk 10-15 per kilogram, with rates ranging from Tk 195-210 per kilogram depending on the location of the kitchen market in Dhaka.
Local onions were retailed at Tk 85-95 per kilogram, while the imported Indian variety was at Tk 70-80 per kilogram, reflecting a Tk 10 per kilogram increase.
Green chillies have experienced a surge of Tk 40 per kilogram in the last two days, with prices ranging from Tk 240-280 per kilogram on Sunday.
According to kitchen market sources, this represents a 90-100 per cent hike within a week.
Stored white potatoes (diamante, granola) were being sold at Tk 48-55 per kilogram, while the red cardinal variety was at Tk 55-60 per kilogram in city groceries, showing a further Tk 3.0-5.0 increase per kilogram.
The government had set the maximum potato price at Tk 36 per kilogram.
Md Rayhan, a chicken vendor at East Tejturi Bazar in Dhaka's Farmgate area, told the FE that the wholesale rate of broiler chicken has risen from Tk 158-160 per kilogram a week ago to Tk 190-192 per kilogram.
Al Amin, a chicken farm owner in Keraniganj, said the prices of day-old chicks have increased by Tk 10-15 each in the last month.
He said poultry feed prices, which had earlier decreased by Tk 4.0-5.0 per kilogram, have returned to their previous levels, leading to an output cost of Tk 180-182 per kilogram.
Onion prices continued to rise due to a supply shortage of local variety and a decline in imports, according to Narayan Chandra Saha, a trader based in Shyambazar.
He said importers were selling onions at Tk 55-58 per kilogram, and they were being wholesaled at Tk 60-62 per kilogram in Shyambazar. This reflects an increase of almost Tk 8.0 per kilogram in the past one and a half weeks.
SM Nazer Hossain, vice president of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB), told the FE that while egg prices have declined to the government-fixed rate of Tk 12, onions, edible oil and potatoes prices still remain volatile, defying the government-set maximum retail prices.
He said onions are being sold at Tk 70-95 per kilogram, as opposed to the MRP of Tk 65 and soybean oil is priced at Tk 174 per litre, exceeding the commerce ministry-fixed rate of Tk 169 per litre.
He pointed out that the potato market remains unstable despite sporadic market interventions by the Consumers Directorate (DNCRP).
He noted that market volatility continues primarily because government agencies have rarely taken any stringent actions, such as imposing jail terms for price manipulations.

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