Some key essentials\\\' prices rise further

Prices of some key essentials increased further in the city kitchen markets ahead of the Holy Shab-e-Barat, according to key kitchen markets sources.
Prices of meat, onion, fragrant rice, suji (semolina), broken chickpea (booter dal) and other few items witnessed a fresh hike in one or two days.
Shab-e-Barat will be observed in the country tonight (Tuesday night).
The religious event is being observed in the sub-continent with a festive mood. In Bangladesh, people prepare dishes like meat curry, bred made of rice flour, local sweets like Halwa, Barfi, Firni made of suji and pulses on the day.
The Ramadan begins just after two weeks of the Shab-e-Barat.  However, prices of essentials marked rise from the middle of May.
Md Kamal Hossain, a private high school teacher at Sheikh Shaheb Bazar in Lalbagh area came to Nowabganj Bazar on Monday.
He told the FE that prices of essentials were already on a rising trend and prices of many commodities including beef, suji, booter dal increased significantly just in a day.   
Prices of beef increased further by Tk 20-30 per kg just in one day. Beef was sold at Tk 390-420 per kg in the morning on Monday. But in the evening, it was selling at Tk 420-440 per kg at different kitchen markets.
Buffalo meat was selling at Tk 370-390 per kg in name of beef. Mutton was sold at Tk 560-580 (Patha) and Tk 600-610 (Khashi) per kg.
Broiler chicken prices increased by Tk 10 per kg and sold at Tk 170-175 per kg while layer variety sold at Tk 175-180 per kg. Indigenous varieties of chicken prices increased by Tk 50-60 per piece. A medium sized bird was sold at Tk 380-400 while bigger one sold at Tk 550-600. Pakistani varieties also increased by Tk 40-50 per piece as a bird of that kind sold at Tk 300-320 per piece.   
Onion prices which declined by Tk 1.0-2.0 per kg on Friday again increased by Tk 4.0-5.0 per kg on Monday. Local variety of onion sold at Tk 46-48 per kg on the day. Indian variety sold at Tk 34-38 per kg -- a Tk 4.0 hike in just two days.  
Prices of suji (loose), one of key item for the Shab-e-Barat, increased by Tk 4.0 per kg and was selling at Tk 50-52 per kg while packet suji prices were seen static at Tk58-60 per kg.
Booter Dal (broken chickpea), another key commodity for the day, increased by Tk 15-20 per kg in last seven days.
Good quality one was sold at Tk 78-80 per kg on Monday.
Kalijira variety of aromatic rice was sold at Tk 100-110 per kg while Chinigura variety sold at Tk 95-105 per kg -- Tk 10-15 hike at per kg.
The prices of garlic, ginger, chilli, cucumber and lemon also increased by Tk 2.0-10 per kg or per piece in last two days.
The commerce minister Tofail Ahmed on May 19 at a meeting with the businesses declared that prices of essentials would not increase during the Ramadan.
The businesses also promised not to hike prices of key essentials saying that import cost is lower and the country has good stock of all key essentials.
Mayor of the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Sayeed Khokon in a view exchanging meeting on Monday asked the traders of the city's biggest wholesale market Moulovibazar to keep prices stable.    
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