Vegetable, broiler, egg prices on the wane but consumers yet to see relief

Prices of vegetables, broiler chickens, and eggs in the capital's kitchen markets are beginning to decline, but consumers feel they have not dropped enough to provide real relief yet.

Traders said the supply of essential items is getting better as road connectivity between Dhaka and the rest of the country gradually normalises.

"During the movement, going to the wholesale market to buy products was quite challenging, which resulted in a reduced supply of vegetables across Dhaka. Now, things have normalised a bit," Shafiqul, a retail vegetable vendor in Badda, told TBS on Thursday.

Visits to kitchen markets in Rampura, Badda, Karwan Bazar, Moghbazar, and Segunbagicha in Dhaka revealed that the price of eggplants has seen the most significant decline. Eggplants, which surged to Tk120 per kg during the unrest, are now available for Tk70-80.

In addition, the price of papayas has dropped from Tk60-65 to Tk40-50, pointed gourds are now Tk50-55 per kg, down by Tk10, and ridge gourd price has decreased from Tk80-90 to Tk60-70 per kg.

Okra is now selling for Tk50-60 per kg, while a medium-sized bottle gourd is priced between Tk50-70, down from Tk80.

In addition, green chili, which saw the highest price jump, is now selling for Tk250-300 a kg, reduced from Tk600.

Anisur Rahman, a vegetable seller in Rampura, said with the supply increasing again, the prices will decline further.

Low-income consumers said the previously inflated prices have started to decrease slightly but remain still high.

Nasir Hossain, who was buying commodities at the Segunbagicha kitchen market, told TBS, "I sell jhalmuri [a local snack made of puffed rice] on the footpath, and for over a week, the situation did not allow me to go out with my stall, resulting in a complete halt in income. Even buying vegetables at Tk60-70 per kg is now a struggle for me."

Prices of chicken, eggs fall but of fish remain high

Broiler chicken prices have decreased a bit due to a slight increase in supply. While some places are selling it for Tk200, others have it priced at Tk185-190 per kg.

Egg prices have fallen in some areas, but they remain high in most places. However, sellers said that egg prices will fall rapidly soon. Eggs are selling for Tk155-Tk170 per dozen, depending on the area.

On the other hand, fish prices have not yet decreased as supply has not returned to normal levels. Various fish such as Rui, Pabda, Pangas, and Tilapia are still selling for Tk50-80 more per kg in different markets across Dhaka.

Unrest, curfew hit Ctg dairy farmers hard

Chattogram's dairy farmers have suffered significant losses due to a transportation crisis triggered by the quota protesters' "complete shutdown" and curfew imposed last Friday. For the past week, they have been forced to sell their milk at Tk35-40 per litre, despite a production cost of Tk65-70 per litre.

Jasim Uddin, a dairy farmer from Tulatali village in Satkania, Chattogram, said, "I produce around 160 kg of milk daily from my 15 cows, which is normally sold at Tk80 per litre. However, due to the student unrest and subsequent curfew, I have suffered significant losses."

According to farmers and milk collecting organisations such as Milk Vita, Karnaphuli upazila, with the most dairy farms in Chattogram, around 50,000 litres of milk are produced daily. Of the amount, about 4,000-5,000 litres go to Milk Vita's processing plants, while the rest is distributed to Chattogram city. 

However, the city's milk supply has been halted for the past week, forcing farmers to sell milk to locals at Tk30-40 per litre.

Mohammad Omar, general secretary of the Chattogram Divisional Dairy Farmers Association, said, "Milk processing companies have cut back on milk purchases from farmers. As a result, a significant portion of the milk produced remains unsold, forcing farmers to sell it at lower prices in the open market."

According to the Chattogram District Livestock Office, there are over 15,000 dairy farms in the district, collectively producing about 10 lakh litres of milk a day. 

Of this quantity, approximately seven lakh litres are sold in the city, while the remaining three lakh litres are sold to local buyers, including sweet producers and households.