Ctg residents still paying hiked up vegetable prices
Residents of Chittagong city are still paying hiked up prices for vegetables as supply to the city's kitchen markets has not returned to normal after several upazilas of the district were hit by flood about a month ago.
Traders said they do not see prices going down anytime soon.
Although prices of some vegetables have gone down slightly, consumers said they are still paying very high prices for vegetables. People of the lower-middle and low income groups are particularly struggling with the increased prices.
Nurul Alam, a salesman, after buying vegetables from Chawk Bazar Kitchen Market, said he now buys less than half the amount of vegetables he used to buy before prices increased.
"We used to buy a kilogram of brinjal at Tk 30, but now the price has soared up to Tk 65 to Tk 70," he said, adding that price of almost all the vegetables doubled from last month.
Another shopper, Rukhsana Begum, a schoolteacher, also bought very little vegetables from Kazir Dewri Kitchen Market.
"We relied on vegetables when prices of meat and fish were high but now we are struggling to buy vegetables," she told The Daily Star.
Visiting different kitchen markets, The Daily Star found 1kg of brinjal being sold at Tk 65, which was sold at Tk 60 last week and 1kg of cauliflower was sold at Tk 120, which was Tk 150 last week.
Cucumber price remained unchanged at Tk 70.
Prices of other vegetables went down a bit compared to last week. Okra was sold at Tk 60 per kg from Tk 70; borboti at Tk 78 from Tk 80 and green papaya at Tk 40 from Tk 50.
Vegetable traders said the reason behind the price hike was the recent incessant rainfall and flood in different parts of the country. Many vegetable fields were damaged by rainfall and flooding that led to a shortage of supply, they said.
Contacted, Abdur Razzak, president of Kazir Dewri Kitchen Market Traders' Association, said the situation might improve by late September.
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