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Prices of essential food items including liquid milk, milk powder, atta, beef and rice shot up once again ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr, putting an extra pressure on the middle and low income people.
One litre packet of liquid milk of Arong or Milk Vita is now selling at Tk 45-50 in the retail market. Only three days back, it sold at Tk 32-35 while the approved maximum retail price (MRP) is Tk 32.
Half-litre packet of milk of the brands has also become less available, leading to the rise of its price to Tk 25 or more while the MRP is Tk 17.
Instead of supplying packaged milk to retailers as per demands, distributors sell it on the black market at much higher prices, said a retailer at Razabazar.
“In my shop, per day demand of milk is 50 litres but distributors supply only five to 10 litres that we buy at Tk 30 a kg, which is its regular market price,” he said, adding, “To cope with the demand, we have to buy it from the black market at Tk 35-38 a kg.”
On the eve of the Eid, the demand of milk will further increase and its price may be unimaginably high, said several retailers in the city.
Price of a kg Diploma milk powder rose to Tk 320 at the retailers’.
Despite Dhaka City Corporation’s regulations on the price of beef, price of a kg of it rose from Tk 140 to Tk160.
Due to higher demand and much less supply, price of cattle rose by at least 10 to 15 per cent, butchers in different markets said, fearing its further increase on the eve of the Eid.
A kg atta that sold at Tk 22 only three days back now sells at Tk 24 in the retail market.
At the end of Ramadan price of per kg gram rose from Tk 62-65 to Tk 70-75 at the retailers end. They attributed the price rise to severe shortfall of gram supply in wholesale markets during the last few days.
Prices of different kinds of rice rose by Tk 0.50 to 1 per kg.
As a price control measure in the beginning of the Ramadan, the authorities arranged shopping centres temporarily run by Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) in the city but they ran short of most items three days ago and all the centres closed yesterday.
Despite regular supply, food items at the shops were sold off fast due to increased demand ahead of the Eid, said BDR officials.
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