Photo : Messenger
With the arrival of Ramadan, traders engage in a competition of price hiking. This time around, the rising prices of daily commodities cannot be controlled at all during the month of Ramadan. Unscrupulous traders are increasing the prices of products on various pretexts such as low supply, high VAT, and the dollar crisis.
On Friday, the government fixed the prices of 29 daily products, including beef, chickpeas, and broiler chicken.
However, it was observed in the market on Saturday that most of the products are being sold at much higher prices than the government-fixed price. Products that were priced lower are now being sold at higher prices, while products that were already priced lower are being sold at the same prices.
Nazer Hossain, the Vice President of the Consumer Association of Bangladesh (CAB), stated, “The government has failed to control the essential market. Last year also saw increased prices before Ramadan and naturally failed to control the market. The government should be strict with them.”
According to the government-fixed price, broiler chickens are supposed to be sold at the consumer level at Tk 175 and the sonalika variety of chickens at Tk 262 per kg, but broilers are being sold at Tk 210 to Tk 220 and sonalika variety of chickens are being sold at Tk 262 per kg. The sellers say that they buy broiler chicken at a wholesale price of Tk 185, so they are selling retail at Tk 210 per kg.
The rate of Mugdal is fixed at Tk 165 per kg, but this product is being sold at Tk 170 on Saturday. In the retail market, the price of chickpeas is fixed at Tk 98, but it is being sold at Tk 105 to Tk 110 per kg.
Meanwhile, the government fixed the price of two types of fishes. The price of pangas is fixed at Tk 180 per kg, while katal fish is fixed at Tk 353. However, buyers were purchasing pangas at the rate of Tk 160 and katal at Tk 350 before the government fixed the prices.
But some product prices declined on Saturday compared to the first day of Ramadan. The cucumber price dropped to Tk 60 from Tk 120, lemon to Tk 60 from Tk 80, and brinjal to Tk 50 from Tk 80.
A buyer who came to the market said that the prices set by the government can only be seen in the media but are not implemented in the market.
Meanwhile, sellers say that the government has not issued any instructions regarding the fixed prices. So, they are selling the products at the previous price. However, many sellers claim that they could not buy products from the wholesale market at the new price. So, they are selling products at higher prices.
Messenger/Fameema
