Shutdown pushes up prices of commodities in Ctg
Prices of vegetables, eggs and meat in the port city soared in the past week, in some cases by 50-60 percent, due to supply crunch and political strikes, retailers and consumers said.
Frequent shutdowns enforced by BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami have snapped the supply link between Chittagong and other regions of the country which further aggravated the existing seasonal shortfall in supply.
At Reazuddin bazaar kitchen market yesterday, current prices of cauliflower at around Tk 50 a kg, aubergine at Tk 45-50 a kg, tomato at Tk 80-100 a kg, green chilli at Tk 60-80 a kg and beans at Tk 55-60 a kg, rose by 40-67 percent from a week ago.
Retailers blame the increased prices on limited supply and higher wholesale prices.
Prices of onion rose to Tk 25 a kg from Tk 15 and prices of imported garlic doubled to Tk 70 a kg, a Karnaphuli market retailer said.
“All items are becoming costlier and vegetable prices are soaring, going beyond our purchasing power,†said Fatema Begum, a housewife, who went to Kazir Dewry market for shopping.
Aziz Hasan, an employee of a private bank and a regular customer at Karnaphuli market, said the prices of most vegetables are showing an upward trend.
Prices vary slightly at different markets including Karnaphuli market, Bahaddarhat market and Kazir Dewry market.
“All the vegetables are not available in all markets now and vendors cannot bring whatever vegetables are available to the markets because of frequent strikes,†said Nur Hossain, a vegetable vendor at Reazuddin Bazaar.
The prices of chicken remained stable even as meat and egg prices went up by around 10 percent compared to the previous week.
Prices of fish rose more than 10 percent on average in the past week.
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