FE Report
Retailers are making windfall profit cashing in on flood as the price gap of vegetables and spices between wholesale and retail markets has widened sharply.
The traders have blamed the ongoing flood for unprecedented price hike which has dealt a blow to limited income group people.
After visit to some key kitchen markets, it was found that the difference in the prices of vegetables and chilli from 50-100 per cent between wholesale and retail markets made the market volatile.
Green Chilli of imported Indian varieties was sold at Tk 150-160 per kg while local chilli Tk 170-190 per kg at Karwan Bazar and Shyam Bazar on Friday.
But imported chilli was sold in between Tk 200 and Tk 240 while local one in between Tk 280 and Tk 300 per kg at retail markets, including Hatirpool, Palashi, Newmarket and Nowabganj Bazar.
Brinjal of different varieties was sold at Tk 40-50 per kg early in the morning at Karwan Bazar which was sold at Tk 60-100 at different kitchen markets on the day.
Brinjal of round variety was sold at Tk 100 at Malibagh, Banasree and Eskaton on the day which was the highest since the month of Ramadan.
Pointed gourd of different qualities was selling for Tk 28-35 per kg at wholesale markets when it was retailing in between Tk 55 and Tk 60 per kg on the day.
However, prices of eddo and other clocasia stems, which usually remain cheaper during the rainy season, were also sold at Tk 40-50 (eddo) and Tk 60-70 (stem) per kg at retail markets---50-55 per cent higher compared to that of wholesales.
But the prices might be much higher if taken into account the prices of vegetables on city's lanes and by-lanes which were not covered by the FE correspondent.
When asked, Md Arman, a retailer at Hatirpool who was selling round brinjal at Tk 100 per kg, said he bought those at Tk 80-85 per kg on Thursday from Karwan Bazar.
"When these ten kgs of brinjal will be sold, I will buy more from Karwan Bazar and those will be cheaper," he said.
But the retailers failed to give any reasonable answer about unprecedented price hike of chilli.
Md Ashraf Ali, a retailer at Nowabganj Bazar, told the FE that people have reduced their demand for vegetables and spices to match to their earnings.
"It is a common trend in the retailers who charge the customers additional prices wishing to buy a less volume of produce," he admitted.
Md Abdul Latif, president of Karwan Bazar Kanchamal Aratdar Baboshayee Samity, an association of vegetable wholesalers, said prices of some vegetables, including teasel gourd, brinjal, eddo, ridge gourd, pointed gourd, tomato and chilli have declined in the wholesales in last seven days which have not been reflected in the retail.
He opined that prices of vegetables might remain higher (he considers the current wholesale prices as much higher) depending on the flood situation in Rangpur, Rajshahi, Bogra, Mymensingh and Sylhet regions.
Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) data showed that Aman paddy on nearly 0.25 million hectares of land and vegetables on 0.15 million hectares of land have been severely damaged by recent floods across the country.
Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) secretary Advocate Humayun Kabir Bhuiyan told the FE that the government should gear up market monitoring which could bring some changes.
He said the Agricultural Marketing Department (DAM) should conduct regular study especially during flood or foul weather over the difference in prices from farmers' level to consumers' end.
The government monitoring teams, formed by the commerce and other relevant ministries, should monitor market prices based on the DAM data to prevent any possibility of market distortion, he added.
However, prices of onion also increased by Tk 5 per kg in a week as imported variety was sold at Tk 65-70 and local at Tk 75-80 per kg on the day.
Most of other essentials' prices remained static on Friday.
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