Prices of rice, beef, pulses and vegetables witnessed an increase over the last week, adding to the pressure on consumers.
On the other hand, prices of local varieties of onion, garlic and ginger have declined slightly.
Rice, the main staple food, has seen a price hike ranging between Tk 2.0 and 5.0 last week.
Seasonal coarse variety Swarna and BR-11 retailed at Tk 38-42 a kg, medium quality Brridhan-28, Paijam and Lata at Tk 46-52 a kg and finer quality Jeerashail, Miniket and Najirshail at Tk 55-68 a kg on Friday, depending on quality.
The state-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) recorded 6.0 to 10 per cent price hike for a few rice varieties in a week.
Talking with the FE, traders attributed the increasing rice price to the uptrend in paddy prices.
Swarna paddy prices rose to Tk 770-780 a maund (40 kg) from Tk 650 two and half weeks earlier.
Off-season Brridhan-28 paddy prices soared to Tk 900 and Miniket to 1200 per maund, registering an increase of Tk 150-Tk 200, said Nilphamari-based trader Hazrat Ali.
Prof Golam Hafeez Kennedy, an agri economist, said coarse rice prices witnessed a notable hike over the last two months despite the fact that farmers incurred losses in Aman harvesting season.
He said the acreage under Boro rice is likely to decline this season, as farmers are switching to other crops or keeping it out of their farming list.
"The government's safety net programme involving rice distribution should be expanded so that it could have an impact on the mainstream market," he added.
"And export-import policies should also be made time-befitting and based on authentic data on rice production or its availability," said Prof Golam Hafeez.
In the last financial year, rice production hit an all-time high at 37.2 million tonnes, according to the primary estimate of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).
The rice output in the Aman season is expected to be more than 14.5 million tonnes, said the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE).
Meanwhile, beef was selling at Tk 540-580 a kg in different areas in the city on Friday, registering an increase of Tk 20.
The present beef prices are 15 per cent higher than a year ago, according to the TCB.
Also, prices of bitter gourd, pointed gourd, 'yard-long bean' and other vegetables have further increased by Tk 10 a kg while prices of bottle gourd saw a decline last week.
Bitter gourd was retailing at Tk 140-160 a kg, long bean Tk 90-100, pointed gourd Tk 60-70, and brinajl Tk 70-90 a kg on Friday.
Bottle gourd was trading at Tk 50-70 a piece on the day.
Prices of local varieties of onion, garlic and ginger declined by Tk 10-20 a kg last week amid rising supply.
Local onion has been selling at below Tk 100 a kg since Thursday. Traders said the price came down as the Indian government withdrew the five month-long ban on onion exports.
Coarse and finer lentil, Khesari and gram witnessed a Tk 5-Tk 10 hike a kg in a week.
Coarse lentil was selling at Tk 78-90, finer lentil at Tk 120-140 and gram at Tk 80-95 a kg on Friday, depending on quality.
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