On Thursday morning, Akhtar Hossain, an employee of a private company, visited the Mohammadpur agricultural market in Dhaka to buy vegetables. He stated that a vendor initially quoted 60 Taka per cauliflower, but after bargaining, he purchased two for 50 Taka.
He noted that during the same period last year, cauliflower and cabbage were sold at 30–40 Taka. Despite it being the winter season when prices are expected to drop, current prices are significantly higher.
Winter vegetables such as cauliflower, cabbage, beans, turnips, and radishes have started arriving in the market. Although supply is increasing daily, prices remain higher than last year. Vendors attribute this to higher production costs at the farm level and crop losses due to October rains, which led farmers to sell at elevated prices to recover losses.
Market checks in three Dhaka markets revealed cauliflower and cabbage selling at 40–60 Taka each. Beans and eggplants are priced at 100–120 Taka per kilogram, while radishes sell at 50–60 Taka. Typically, at the start of winter, cauliflower and cabbage sell for 30–40 Taka, beans 40–60 Taka, and radishes 25–30 Taka. Increased supply usually lowers prices.
Currently, tomatoes are priced at 120–140 Taka per kilogram, green chilies, bitter gourd, and ridge gourd at 100–120 Taka, snake gourd 60–80 Taka, and point gourd 50–70 Taka. Onion prices remain stable at 100–120 Taka per kilogram, with the government deciding against imports to protect farmers’ interests.
Local old potatoes sell for 25–30 Taka per kilogram, while limited supplies of early new potatoes cost 140–160 Taka. Fish, chicken, and eggs remain stable—broiler chicken 170–180 Taka, Sonali chicken 280–300 Taka, and farm eggs 120–130 Taka per dozen. Retail supply of bottled soybean oil has slightly decreased.
GLIVE/TSN