Prices of coriander seed and powder reached an all-time-high in the kitchen markets recently, triggered by domestic production fall and higher demand, traders said.
They said prices of seed and its powder, considered a common spice, started to increase from the beginning of the current year.
Between January and June of the year, price of the spice more than doubled to Tk200-220, said retailers in different kitchen markets.
The seed price increased to Tk 260-280 in October-November period and its powder to Tk320-340 per kg, which is almost similar to the prices of imported cumin seeds, Md Akram Hossain, a retailer at Banalata Kitchen Market under Newmarket area said.
He said higher wholesale rate has forced retailers to sell the item at increased prices.
"Coriander seed is being sold at Tk220-240 per kg at the Moulovibazar wholesale market in the city and its powder at Tk300-320 per kg", he said.
Coriander powder of different brands like Radhuni, Pran or Arku are selling at Tk20-22 per 50 gram packet, which was Tk12 a year back, he said.
Asif Kamal Shah, a trader at Chhoto Katra in the older part of the city, said local production has been decreasing for a decade, which is the major factor for supply crunch.
Supply from the coriander growing hubs like Jessore, Faridpur, Dinajpur, Kustia, Pabna regions have declined significantly in last two years.
He said import cost for Indian and Chinese coriander seed is now US$ 2,000-2,200 per tonne.
"You know the price of coriander has never crossed Tk 200 per kg at the retail level," he said.
Md Ripon, a betel leaf and cigarette store owner at Purana Paltan in the city, said they have stopped giving coriander seed with betel leaf.
"Customers seek coriander seed with betel leaf, but the price is stubbornly high, forcing us to stop using the seed," he said. "The seed was only Tk60-80 per kg a year back, which is now Tk260-280," he said.
An officials at the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) said coriander is now growing at 0.3 million hectares, which was more than 0.45 million hectares a decade ago.
Production is not more than 0.335 million tonnes now for 160 million of population, which was more than 0.4 million tonnes 10 years back when population was not more than 130 million.
He also pointed out that many farmers prefer selling only coriander leafs rather than to wait for seeds which takes more than four months.
Price deprivation also forced a number of farmers to give up cultivating the seeds, he said.
According to the DAE, the government has fixed a target to get 0.4 million tonnes of coriander seeds at 0.35 million hectares in FY'15.
Md Rafiqul Millat, a spice trader at Moulovibazar wholesale, said local agro processing companies buy a huge volume of seed for making many of their products like chanachur, spicy muri, packet spices, and so on. Five big companies buy above 50-60 per cent of the total output, he said.
However, the Directorate General of Food, Trading Corporation of Bangladesh or the Department of Agricultural Marketing (DAM) has no comprehensive data on the actual demand for coriander seed.
A DAM official said the current price level is the highest ever recorded.
He estimated that the current domestic demand, including local consumption and export, should be no less than 0.5 million tonnes.
tonmoy.wardad@gmail.com
Coriander seed, powder price hits all-time high
Yasir Wardad | Published: December 02, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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