Spices get costlier ahead of Eid-ul-Azha

Prices of spices have gone up just two days ahead of Eid-ul-Azha — the second largest religious festival of Muslims in Bangladesh.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 9 August 2019, 04:19 PM
Updated : 9 August 2019, 04:22 PM

The prices of ginger, garlic, onion and cardamom -- the essential ingredients for preparing dishes in the festival -- have become particularly dearer in Dhaka's kitchen markets.

'Alamgir', a wholesaler at Kawran Bazar, was selling cardamom at Tk 24,00 to 3,000 per kg on Friday.

“The price of the spice increased by Tk 400 from the last Eid-ul-Fitr and Tk 600 from the last Eid-ul-Azha,” he said.

The price of cardamom rose by 44 percent and ginger by 59 percent over the last one year, according to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh, the government's trading arm.

Chinese ginger was being sold at Tk 160 a kg and Thailand's ginger at Tk 180 per kg, according to wholesaler Mohammad Sagar.

But Masud, a grocery shopkeeper at Hatirpool, was selling Chinese garlic at the same rate.

However, the price of local onion increased by Tk 4 a kg in the last two days, said a shopkeeper at the Kawran Bazaar.

Such price hike ahead of Eid has become common in the country, burning a hole in the pockets of consumers, particularly for the low and middle-income group.