Vegetable price still high in Ctg despite enough supply

Even though supply of vegetables to kitchen markets in Chittagong city has returned to almost normal, the price of vegetables remains still high even a week after Eid when people desperately need a break from eating meat.

Price of vegetables started increasing at the end of July when the supply went down due to incessant rain and flood, according to traders.

But now the supply is normal and the price of vegetables in the wholesale market in the port city's Reazudddin Bazar is almost half the price in different kitchen markets, found our correspondent.

As a result, many people, especially belonging to lower-middle and low income groups, are struggling with hiked up prices.

Visiting Chawkbazar, Kazir Dewry and Reazuddin Bazar kitchen markets on Friday morning, this correspondent found that each kilogramme of brinjal was being sold for Tk 50 to Tk 70, pointed gourd for Tk 40 to Tk 60, okra for Tk 60 to Tk 70, tomato for Tk 110 to Tk 140, teasel gourd for Tk 60 to Tk 80, cabbage for Tk 60 to Tk 80, green papaya for Tk 50 to Tk 60, ridge gourd for Tk 70 to Tk 80, snake gourd for Tk 60 to Tk 70, yard long bean for Tk 60 to Tk 80, and cucumber for Tk 50 to Tk 60.

A shopper, Md Alam, a private job holder, at Kazir Dewry Kitchen Market, said, “Although the vegetable price has gone up but our salary has not increased.”

“How will we survive if the price of the vegetables remains this high,” said Sultana Razia, a housewife, told this correspondent at Chawkbazar Kitchen Market.

When asked, Md Shawkat Ali, a retailer of Kazir Dewry Kitchen Market, claimed, “The supply of vegetables is still low. Moreover, when we buy vegetables from the wholesale market, the lot includes damaged and rotten vegetables which we have to dump. And we also have to count transport expenses.”

But Omar Azam, proprietor of Mohammadi Arat (a warehouse of all kinds of vegetables) at Reazuddin Bazar, said the supply of vegetables started increasing  before the Eid-ul-Azha.

The market will come back to normal within 10 to 15 days, he hoped.