Although spice prices typically rise before Eid-ul-Azha, this year the market has remained stable so far.
Traders said that due to sufficient supply, none of the spices have seen a price hike ahead of Eid, and they expect that the prices would remain stable till Eid-ul-Azha.
A visit to Karwan Bazar in Dhaka on Friday it was seen that the spices were sold at stable prices.
Among common spices, cinnamon was being sold at Tk 500-600 per kilogram based on variants, cardamom at Tk 4,400–6,000 per kilogram, cloves at Tk 1,300–1,600 per kilogram, cumin at Tk 600–900 per kilogram, black cumin at Tk 400–600 per kilogram, and black pepper were sold at Tk 1,200 BDT per kilogram.
Meanwhile, about two weeks ago, according to data from the Khatunganj wholesale market in Chattogram, the prices of major kitchen spices, such as ginger and garlic, and imported aromatic spices, including cumin and cinnamon, dropped significantly compared with the past year.
Traders attribute the decline to sufficient domestic supply, declining international booking rates, and stable import conditions.
Amar Kanti Das, vice-president of the Bangladesh Spices Traders Association, stated earlier that the prices of major imported spices, such as cardamom, cumin, and cinnamon, have been consistently falling due to increased supply and reduced international procurement costs.
‘While wholesale prices have come down, the retail market has yet to fully reflect this drop due to weak market monitoring,’ he added.
Mohammad Ali Hossain, a trader from Karwan Bazar’s Yasin-Rezwan General Store, told New Age on Friday that the prices of spices are stable and they don’t see any chance to hike them before Eid.
Eid-ul-Azha, one of the major festivals of Muslims, is scheduled to be celebrated on June 7 in Bangladesh. As the holidays would start on June 3-5, officially, Friday was the last weekend.
Apart from the spices, the prices of Miniket rice and most vegetables remained stable on the capital’s kitchen markets on Friday, owing to an abundant supply.
According to traders, the price of newly arrived Miniket rice has dropped by Tk 10-15 per kilogram over the past few weeks and has remained at the same level.
On Friday, the fine Miniket rice of different brands was sold at Tk 65-80 a kilogram, which was Tk 75-100 a month ago.
Tofazzal Ahmed, owner of Al Amin Traders at Karwan Bazar, said that the price of rice dropped due to the arrival of new boro rice.
‘The boro season has already over at the rice producing region of the country and the market has abundant of supply of rice from newly harvested boro paddy,’ he added.
Usually, boro paddy is used to make thinner and finer Miniket rice.
On Friday, like the past few days, the price of coarse and other variants was ranging at Tk 52-65 a kilogram.
The prices of almost all vegetables remained unchanged or saw further decline on Friday.
Among high-priced items, onions were sold at Tk 55-60 per kilogram, while garlic was sold at Tk 130 per kilogram for the local variant and Tk 200 per kilogram for the imported one.
Almost all vegetables were available at a price range of Tk 30-50 a kilogram.
Spiny gourd was sold at Tk 50 a kilogram, snake gourd, loofa, pointed gourd, yardlong bean, and bitter gourd were sold at Tk 30-50 a kilogram on the markets.
Lady fingers were sold for Tk 30 a kilogram at Karwan Bazar, and round aubergines were sold for Tk 50 a kilogram and long ones for Tk 60-80 a kilogram.
The prices of green chillis ranged from Tk 40-50 a kilogram, red chillis Tk 330-400 depending on the variant. The prices of potatoes remained unchanged at Tk 20 a kilogram.
However, as tomato season ended, the price of the item rose to Tk 60-80 a kilogram.
Broiler chicken prices dropped to Tk 160-170 per kilogram, while the cost of eggs was Tk 135-140 per dozen.
Md Sohag, a trader at Karwan Bazar, told New Age, ‘There is no chance for the prices of vegetables to shoot up as long as the supply chain is normal,’ he added.
However, due to a supply shortage, the prices of fish have remained high.
Packaged soybean oil was sold at Tk 189 per litre and Tk 922 per 5-litre bottle, whereas the prices of unpackaged soybean and palm oil were Tk 169 per litre.
The prices of beef and mutton remained unchanged, at approximately Tk 750-800 per kilogram and Tk 1,100-1,200 per kilogram, respectively.
Shakhawat Ullah, a customer from Karwan Bazar, said that the prices of spices were normal, as he saw the level of extortion had reduced.
‘Though there are some incidents of extortions, but I think, they yet to become organized and structural like before,’ he added.
He urged the government to increase monitoring and take proper initiatives to control the markets.
