Prices of essentials climb ahead of Ramadan
Prices of many imperative commodities, such as edible essential oil, chickpeas and sugar, experience gone up at both retail and low cost markets across Chattogram in spite of a rise in imports during the past three months.
The development happens two months prior to the fasting month of Ramadan, when demand for these consumer goods goes up to a huge extent.
Price hikes before Ramadan are a basic phenomenon, according to Najer Hossain, vice president of the Consumer Association of Bangladesh (CAB).
"This is as the syndicates of dealers and importers hike the costs in a number of phases before mobile court drives are created to tame the spiral," he told The Daily Superstar.
To be able to control prices, it's important to monitor the marketplace a few months before Ramadan aside from conducting frequent monitoring over summer and winter, Hossain added.
According to investors and importers, rates are on a great upward style in global markets as well.
Costs have already been fluctuating for the last few months because of a drop in creation found in exporting countries and weakening of the international trading system, they said.
The wholesale price of soybean oil at Chattogram's Khatunganj market, one of the country's largest wholesale hubs, has increased by Tk 350 per maund (37.3 kilogrammes) to about Tk 4,500.
Similarly, palm oil today costs around Tk 3,700 per maund, a rise around Tk 100 to Tk 120.
In retail markets, the price of bottled soybean oil has increased by Tk 10 to Tk 15 per kg to about Tk 132 while loose soybean has risen by Tk 10 Tk 12 per kg to about Tk 122 in the span of per month.
The wholesale price of chickpeas has increased by Tk 450 per maund from a month ago to around Tk 2,190. Similarly, dried peas marketed for around Tk 1,490 per maund, a rise of about Tk 370.
Retailers mention that the price of chickpeas in the household market features increased by Tk 12 to Tk 15 per kg to roughly Tk 63 to Tk 70 even while dried chickpeas by Tk 10 per kg to about Tk 43 to Tk 45.
The price of another essential commodity -- sugar -- has soared to around Tk 2,290 per kg although it was Tk 2,050 per month back.
Anower Hossain, a wholesale trader at Khatunganj market, said they have adequate stocks of Ramadan things, including chickpeas and glucose, and that there was no sign of a supply shortage.
However, retailers suddenly located even more orders with Ramadan in mind, resulting in a slight upsurge in prices at wholesale market segments, he added.
Industry insiders said although there were sufficient stocks, a good nexus of dishonest wholesalers and merchants have created illegal, profit-mongering syndicates that charge extra for these things.
In this situation, it's the people, specifically those of the low and middle classes, who undergo the many, they added.
According to data by Chattogram Custom House, a lot more than 3.73 lakh tonnes of edible oil, including crude soya bean and refined palm oil, were imported through the Chattogram port in the 90 days preceding January, up from 3.59 lakh tonnes in the same period this past year.
Chickpea imports amounted to around 62,165 tonnes as the figure was 183,450 tonnes for the dried selection between November 2020 and January 2021, up from 63,120 tonnes and 162,034 tonnes respectively the entire year before.
In the same period, about 38,043 tonnes of sugar were imported, the data shows.
SM Zakaria, additional deputy commissioner of Chattogram district, told The Daily Superstar that market monitoring for Ramadan product sales hasn't yet started.
"We will conduct marketplace monitoring activities soon after fixing a work plan," he added.
Asked about the purchase price hike, Zakaria said they regularly conduct markets monitoring within a tiny periphery every month. "If any allegation is normally received, we will conduct drives and have legal actions against the dishonest traders," said the excess deputy commissioner.
