Prices of sugar further increased last week, which market insiders attributed to the syndication of giant sugar mills.
Vegetables, onion and garlic showed downtrend, while chicken meat prices witnessed hike last week that ended Thursday, according to kitchen market operators
Sugar price rose to Tk 68-Tk 72 per kg last week from Tk 65-Tk 67 per kg a week back. The price was Tk 62 to Tk 65 two weeks ago, grocers said.
The price of sugar was Tk 56-Tk 60 per kg before the beginning of holy month of Ramadan-a 20 to 21 per cent hike in a month.
Md Shamsul Alam, a grocer at Mirpur Section 6 area, told the FE that prices of sugar increase by Tk0.5 to Tk1.0 almost every day for the last three weeks.
"I bought sugar at Tk66 per kg yesterday (Wednesday) from Karwan Bazar", he said.
The price might further increase as the demand for the item will climb across the country during Eid, he said.
Abdur Razzaque, President of Moulvibazar Baboshayee Aratdar Samity, an association of wholesalers, said the millershave squeezed supply of sugar from the beginning of the Ramadan.
He said sugar is being sold at Tk 54-Tk 60 per kg at mill gates when it should not be more than Tk 50 per kg.
He said sugar was selling at Tk 63.5 to Tk 64 per kg on Thursday at Moulovibazar.
Consumers Association of Bangladesh secretary Humayun Kabir Bhuiyan said the import cost of sugar is now Tk26 per kg and plus value added taxes and other charges a miller's cost is not more than Tk 45 now.
He said prices of sugar should not be more than Tk 54 at the retail level.
The government monitoring should be stricter in the factories and their storages of the big companies like City Group, Meghna Group, Abdul Monem Group, S Alam, Deshbandhu Group who hold 90 per cent of the market share of sugar, he said.
According to the commerce ministry, annual demand for sugar is 1.5 million tonnes in the country when availability of the item was more than 1.7 million tonnes in FY'16.
A commerce ministry official said more than 1.1 million tonnes of sugar was imported in the first nine month (July-March) of the just-ended fiscal year.
Prices of broiler chicken witnessed a hike as per kg was sold at Tk 170-Tk 185 across the week. Indigenous chicken prices increased to Tk 390-Tk 400 per kg from Tk 350-Tk360 per kg.
Prices of vegetables (leafy) declined by Tk 2-Tk 10 per kg or per bunch. Imported onion prices declined to Tk 140-Tk 170 per kg from Tk 160- Tk 180 per kg a week back. Onion prices showed Tk 2-Tk 3 decline in a week.
Vegetable vendors said with the departure of people from the capital gaining speed ahead of Eid, prices of vegetables and some other perishable items have started to plunge.
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Source: The Financial Express