Retail vegetable prices are twice wholesale prices in Chittagong

Chittagong City buyers are feeling the pinch as retail prices of vegetables are twice as much as wholesale prices.

The retailers are blaming short supply due to heavy rains for the price hike.

At Reazuddin Bazar, the largest market in the city, retail stores are situated only 30-50 yards from the wholesale shops.

Bitter melon was being sold at Tk 35 a kilogram at the wholesale shops on Friday. The price was Tk 70 a kg at the retail shops.

Wholesalers were selling kantola at Tk 40 per kg while retailers were charging Tk 80 per kg.

The price difference per kilogram was sharp for other vegetables too.

Parwal, going for Tk 28 at wholesale shops, commanded Tk 50 at retail stores; small brinjal at Tk 18 at wholesale shops was selling at Tk 50 in retail; cucumber at Tk 35 at wholesale stores was going for Tk 60-70 in retail; yardlong bean at Tk 45 in wholesale was Tk 80 in retail.

The price of green chilli pepper was Tk 70-80 at the wholesale shops, but Tk 130-160 in retail.

Md Shahin Mia, accountant at wholesale shop Bismillah Banijyaloy, said the retailers were selling vegetables at 'very' higher prices, as they claimed wholesale prices were also high.

"This difference is unacceptable. This is because of lack of monitoring," he said.

Retailer 'Alauddin' attributed the higher prices to a shortfall in supply of vegetables due to heavy rains and flood earlier in August.

"Much of the vegetables we procure from wholesalers perish quickly. We cannot recover our costs if we do not sell them at higher prices,” he said.

Prices of poultry products – egg and chicken – too have shot up due to higher demand caused by vegetable price hike, traders claimed.

In July, 100 farm eggs cost Tk 600.

Reazuddin Bazar's egg trader Bokhteyar Hossain told  bdnews24.com that 100 red farm eggs were being sold at Tk 890 and white eggs at Tk 880 on Friday.

The price of broiler chicken increased by Tk 10 a kg in a week. The price was Tk 135 a kg last week, but Tk 140-145 on Friday.

Prices of fishes and meat, however, were stable.

Loitta fish was being sold at Tk 80-120 a kg, Tilapia Tk 130-140 a kg and Rui Tk 180-260 per kg.

Beef without bones cost Tk 480 a kg and beef with bones Tk 450 a kg.