With Eid-ul-Fitr around the corner, the prices of chicken, beef and several spices commonly used during the festival have gone up.

Retailers in Mirpur-11, Shewrapara, Kazipara, Ibrahimpur, Farmgate and Kawran Bazar blamed the price hike on the law of supply and demand kicking in ahead of the largest religious festival in Bangladesh, where 91 percent of the population is Muslim.

Image

Eid-ul-Fitr is expected to be celebrated on March 20, with the government announcing a seven-day holiday for the festivities starting from March 18.

Subsequently, in just a week, the price of beef increased from Tk 750-800 per kilogram to Tk 780-820 a kg.

The prices of broiler and Sonali chickens have increased by Tk 40 to Tk 50 per kg over the past week to Tk 220 to Tk 250 per kg and Tk 310 to Tk 350 per kg respectively.

“Chicken prices have risen abnormally within a week,” said Sakib Hossain, who came to Kawran Bazar from Tejagaon to buy groceries.

The prices are rising because the demand has gone up ahead of Eid, said Mohammad Hanif, a chicken trader at Kawran Bazar.

“Since we are buying at a higher price, we are selling at a higher price. When wholesale prices fall, we also sell at lower prices,” he said.

In a similar vein, Md Swapan, a meat seller at Shewrapara Bazar in Mirpur, said the prices of cattle weighing around 2.5 to 3 maunds at Gabtoli cattle market have increased by Tk 5,000 to Tk 10,000. As a result, beef sellers have had to adjust their prices by Tk 40 to Tk 50 per kg.

The prices of some spices widely used during Eid have gone up.

For instance, dried plum, commonly known as aloo bukhara, is now selling at Tk 1,250 to Tk 1,300 per kg, up from Tk 700 to Tk 750 at the beginning of Ramadan, said Mohammad Gofran, proprietor of Cumilla General Store at Kawran Bazar.

Raisins are going for Tk 850 to Tk 900 per kg, compared to Tk 700 earlier.

Pistachios now cost Tk 3,700 to Tk 3,800 per kg, up from Tk 3,200 to Tk 3,300 at the start of Ramadan.

The prices of cinnamon and cardamom have remained high for about a year, ranging between Tk 4,500 and Tk 5,500 per kg.

Egg prices have also risen by Tk 10 from last week to Tk 100 to Tk 120 a dozen.

Meanwhile, onion prices continued to decline, said Sajib Sheikh, a wholesale onion trader at Kawran Bazar.

Onions are selling for Tk 22 to Tk 28 per kg in the wholesale market, while the retail prices ranged from Tk 35 to Tk 45.

Potatoes are selling for Tk 10 to Tk 11 per kg in the wholesale market and at Tk 15 to Tk 20 in the retail market, said Md Sabuj, a major wholesale potato trader of Bikrampur Bhandar at Kawran Bazar.

If the prices of potatoes and onions continue to fall this way, farmers may lose interest in producing them, which could lead to an abnormal price hike later.

The government should consider how to protect farmers from losses in prices of potatoes, onions and other agricultural products, he added.

Some vegetable prices have also dropped.

Cucumbers, which sold for Tk 100 to Tk 150 per kg at the beginning of Ramadan, and tomatoes, which sold for Tk 60 to Tk 80, are now selling at Tk 30 to Tk 60. The prices of brinjal and some other vegetables have also declined.

Loose soybean oil price has gone up by Tk 5 per litre, while the prices of bottled soybean oil, pulses, rice, salt, sugar and other essentials remain largely unchanged.