Food prices which have already gone up due to the devastating floods since late July, are rising in kitchen markets in Bangladesh's capital city Dhaka, as the Muslims fasting month of Ramadan comes.
Meanwhile, the caretaker government has taken various measures to stem the spirals to arrest the price hike and serve the poor people.
The holy month of Ramadan is very likely to begin on Friday in Bangladesh.
And just two days ago, the wholesale prices of most essential commodities began to rise sharply, some vendors in a kitchen market in Dhaka told Xinhua on Thursday, adding that prices went a little higher ahead of Ramadan last year.
Chilli, cucumber, eggplant and onion, which are popular in Bangladesh especially during the Ramadan, are much more expensive than before. The price of chilli has shot up to 180 taka (1 U.S. dollar equals about 70 taka) one kilogram from 120 taka per kg, while price of cucumber rose from 30 to 50 taka per kg.
Onion and eggplant are both sold at about 15 taka per kg higher, while price of egg marked a sharp rise from 54 to 80 taka per kg. However, prices of a few kinds of vegetables are down thanks to smooth transportation.
This happens in most kitchen markets in the capital city, as the prices usually shot up in the fasting month and the floods this year made it worse.
Prices of food items in Bangladesh marked a sharp rise during the past months and the inflation rate on food items reached 13 percent in July, according to figure of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. The central bank Bangladesh Bank said in a recent report the present inflationary situation has resulted from the devastating floods.
In the wake of price spiraling, the caretaker government has already launched open-market sale of essentials at fixed rates in cities and six divisional headquarters. In Dhaka, there are 200 shops.
Besides, 15,440 dealers across the country have been selected to sell only rice at lower price with 450 shops in Dhaka.
Items in the fair price shops, like edible oil, rice, salt and garlic, are sold at least five to 10 tanka less per kg from the markets. The price of the rice is fixed at 19 taka per kg against the import cost of 25 taka. Oil is sold at 73 taka one liter, while the price is 85 taka in the markets.
The central bank said a downward inflationary trend might be seen within a short time with the implementation of government post-flood programs. Besides, prices of essentials may go down as government encourages private sector importers and increases public sector food import.
Source: Xinhua
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