Prices of vegetables fall on good supply:Daily Star

Prices of some vegetables fell between 12 percent and 40 percent over the past one week in the capital's kitchen markets, thanks to an increased supply. Karwan Bazar traders sold green chilli for Tk 45 a kg yesterday, down from the average price, Tk 75, on the eve of Ramadan. The average price of aubergine fell about 12 percent to Tk 75 a kg, while the cucumber price fell 15 percent to Tk 42.5, according to data compiled by The Daily Star during visits to several kitchen markets. The prices of widely consumed vegetables were on the decline yesterday. However, onion traded at Tk 38-42, about 14.28 percent up from the prices on the eve of Ramadan. “Vegetable prices are declining mainly due to a solid supply over the last couple of days,” said Mohammad Sayed, president of Shyambazar Krishi Panya Aarot Banik Samity, adding that heavy rain was another reason for the prices to fall.   Greengrocers are selling vegetables at lower prices as those generally perish quickly in the rainy season, he said.      But the average price of aubergine is 30 percent higher than that a month ago, according to data from the Department of Agriculture Marketing, a unit of the agriculture ministry. Cucumber prices rose 29 percent in a month, while the prices of green chilli have remained steady. “Onion prices are increasing mainly due to its low production in India,” said Ratan Saha, an onion wholesaler at Shyambazar. India hiked the minimum export price of onions by 67 percent to $500 per tonne in a bid to discourage exports and improve local supplies as its prices surged in domestic markets. After the increase, the minimum export price of onions translates to Rs 30 per kg, which is equivalent to Tk 39. Onion imports went up 76 percent in the first 10 months of the outgoing fiscal year. Onions worth $153 million was imported during the time, according to the LC settlement statistics of Bangladesh Bank. Besides, opening of LCs (letters of credit) for importing onions has increased by 78 percent while LCs worth $165 million have been opened to import spices that are in high demand for preparing iftar items during Ramadan. Bangladesh's annual demand for onions is 22 lakh tonnes. The country produced 13.58 lakh tonnes in the last season and the rest was imported mainly from India. Meanwhile, a team comprising representatives from the commerce ministry, Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI), Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection, and Bangladesh Tariff Commission visited Karwan Bazar kitchen market early hours yesterday to monitor the prices, said Helal Uddin, vice-president of FBCCI. “We visited the market to know the exact wholesale prices of vegetables,” he said, adding that mobile courts would take punitive action against retail traders if they hiked the prices abnormally.   Kitchen markets in the capital will be raided regularly throughout the month of Ramadan, Helal said.