Rising rice, egg prices add to consumers’ sufferings
The prices of vegetables, fish and meat also have been pricey since the withdrawal of the coronavirus shutdown
The soaring prices of rice and eggs, alongside the already unstable vegetable market, are making life harder for the people who have lost their income because of the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Even if someone wants to have coarse rice, it costs them at least Tk48 per kilogram at present. The price is Tk14 or 28 percent higher when compared to that in the same period of the last year.
According to Thursday's market analysis by the state-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), one kilogram of coarse rice was sold at Tk34-36 during this period a year ago.
The prices of vegetables, which have gone up in the wake of prolonged flooding in various part of the country, are yet to come down. While on visits to a few retail and wholesale markets in the capital on Thursday, The Business Standard found that most vegetables were selling at Tk50-80 per kg.
What is more, there is no scope to rely on eggs as well. Sellers said four pieces of farm chicken eggs are now selling at Tk38-40, up from Tk35 a week ago. A dozen of eggs is now costing Tk110-112.
Buyers said the prices of vegetables, fish and meat have been pricey since the withdrawal of the coronavirus shutdown.
Moreover, the rising price of rice has been causing sufferings to them.
Ayesha Khatun, a garment factory worker who came to a shop in Rampura Bazar, said, "My four-member family relies on my small income. Everything is getting expensive. Even, four pieces of eggs now cost Tk40."
Mofizur Rahman, a private job holder, said his company had reduced his salary by 40 percent during the coronavirus situation.
He has already sent his wife and children to the village home, yet the high prices of daily commodities are creating pressure on him.
Abdul Alim, a wholesaler and retailer of rice in Karwanbazar, said, "When the price of rice goes up, sale declines. People wait for the price to fall. When the price is low, our sales increases."
He, however, said there is no sign of a sudden fall in rice prices.
Layek Ali, general secretary of the Bangladesh Auto Major and Husking Mill Owners Association, said, "Everyone's children are at home amid the pandemic. So, farmers are now not selling rice to the market which is resulting in a price hike of rice."
According to the market analysis of TCB, the price of flour has also gone up in a week. The price of unpacked flour has increased by Tk2 and is selling at Tk28-30. And the price of packed flour has increased by Tk3 to sell at Tk33-38.
Consumers, who suffer from high prices for daily necessities, said they do not have any scope to shift in bread instead of rice to cut their costs.