<i>Green chilli too hot for Pabna buyers</i>

The price of chilli, an essential ingredient for cooking, has shot up 10 times in a month in Pabna as supply falls much short of the demand due mostly to production fall caused by recent incessant rainfall.Photo: STAR

The price of green chilli has risen up to 10 times in a month, much to the worry of consumers.
During visits to different wholesale and retail markets in the district yesterday, this correspondent found that the price of a kg of chilli was Tk 150 to 180 in the wholesale market while it was Tk 180 to 220 in retail outlets.
“In last month I bought a kg of chilli for Tk 20 to 30. Two weeks ago it sold for Tk 60 to 80. But lastly I bought only 100 gram of chilli for Tk 18 on Monday as spending Tk 180 for a kg of chilli would be too much for me,” Md Shajahan Ali, a government employee, told this correspondent yesterday.
Wholesalers attributed the unusual price hike to production loss and supple shortage due to the excessive rain recently.
“With the start of incessant rain, price of a kg of chilli shot up to Tk 80 to 90 during August 5- 10. The price continued to increase in the wholesale market due to scanty supply. I have sold a kg of chilli 150 to 160 today [Tuesday],” said Md Khalil Pramanik, a wholesale trader at Pabna Boro Bazar.
“At least 100 maunds of chilli is needed everyday in Pabna market but in last three weeks we got only 15 to 20 maunds from the local farmers and collected 30 to 40 maunds from other northern districts,” said Abul Hossain, another wholesaler.