Daily essentials still out of reach
Idris Miah, a roadside makeshift iftar seller, went to Karwan Bazar Kitchen Market to buy kheshari dal (grass peas), an essential ingredient for piyaju, a popular item for iftar.
"I searched for kheshari dal in at least 20 shops at Karwan Bazar Kitchen Market, but found it only in two shops where the prices were unusually high, forcing me to leave the market without purchasing kheshari dal," he told this newspaper.
To verify his claim, these correspondents visited at least 30 grocery shops at Karwan Bazar and found that kheshari dal was only available at two shops, where it was being sold for Tk 140 to Tk 150 per kg.
Wishing anonymity, a kheshari dal wholesale trader told the newspaper that the product was scarce on the market and hoped it would be supplied within the next few days.
Visiting Karwan Bazar, Kochukhet, Ibrahimpur, and Mirpur-14 kitchen markets, these correspondents found that the prices of broiler chicken, mutton, fish, and some fruits -- including watermelons, bananas, pineapples, guavas, and strawberries -- have increased by Tk 20-100.
Customers were seen buying imported fruits despite the high prices.
Broiler chicken is being sold at Tk 220-230 per kg, up from Tk 200-210 last week. Mutton is now priced at Tk 1,050-1,200, compared to Tk 1,000-1,150 last week.
"Being the main source of meat for low-income people, the demand for broiler chicken is high. But the supply is not adequate, leading to the price increase," traders claimed.
Sukkur Ali, a fish trader at Karwan Bazar, claimed the demand for high-quality fish has increased, leading to higher prices.
"Prices of hilsa, rupchada, shol, koral, and deshi koi have increased by Tk 200-300 per kg, and we have some fixed customers who buy these regardless of the prices," he claimed.
Additionally, prices of dates, sugar, lentils, ginger, garlic, potatoes, chickpeas, and flour have remained high for the past month.
Meanwhile, the commerce ministry fixed the price of dates, one of the key items for iftar, in a notice on Monday, setting the price of low-grade dates at Tk 150 to Tk 165 per kg.
However, when these correspondents visited the capital's kitchen markets, they found that there were no dates available for below Tk 200, while several traders told The Daily Star that they were unable to procure dates at the government-set price.
If they can purchase dates within that price range, they will sell them at the price set by the government, they said.
Only the price of onions has decreased by Tk 5-15. Onions are being sold at Tk 85-100, down from Tk 90-110 two days ago.
Additionally, upon visiting the iftar-selling shops in several places in the capital, these correspondents found that jilapi is being sold at Tk 200-300 per kg, up from Tk 150-220 last year.
The iftar sellers claimed that the prices of jilapi increased due to a surge in the price of ingredients, including sugar and flour.
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