Staff Reporter :
After a week of sufferings heavily inflicted on customers, the abnormal price of green chilli has started to come down in the country’s retail and wholesale kitchen market including the capital Dhaka on Sunday as the imported green chilli already entered through various land ports in Bangladesh.
According to Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), so far over 100 tonnes of green chilli have been imported from India through the various land ports, including Bhomra, after issuing the import permission (IP) on June 25 before Eid-ul-Azha.
According to sources, the import cost of green chilli is about Tk 50 per kg.
Green chilli sold at Tk 500-550 per kilogram at various retail vegetable markets in capital on Sunday, it was over at Tk 800-650 a day before. While the green chilli sold at Tk 380-400 per kg at wholesale market of capital Dhaka on Sunday, it was at Tk 480-600 per kg a day before.
The price of green chilli has soared to a record high of Tk 600 per kg in Dhaka city as both wholesalers and retailers hiked its price amid the growing demand following supply shortage, low production and import suspension due to Eid-ul-Azha holidays.
Md. Ratul Ahmed, a retail vegetable seller of Rampura kitchen market, said, I bought green chillies at Tk 380 per kg of from wholesale market on Sunday,
which was Tk 480 a day before Saturday. The price has decreased by Tk 100 per kg in the wholesale market within a day, so I am also selling at Tk 500 taka per kg on Sunday which was Tk 600 on Saturday.
As the import is stopped, the big traders have increased the price of green chilli by syndicate. Now the import has started and the price is decreasing, he added.
In the wake of the surging price of green chilli in the local market, the Agriculture Ministry allowed the import of green chilli. The ministry permitted 30 importing firms to import a total of 11,600 tonnes of green chillies, said a press release on June 25.
According to the MoA, so far 36 thousand 830 tons of green chillies have been allowed to import.
After a five-day Eid-vacation, the trade activities between India and Bangladesh resumed through Bhomra land port on Sunday with the arrival of 60 tonnes of green chilli, which has been in high demand in the past few days and seeing massive price hike around the country.
Abdur Rahim, general secretary of Satkhira Kitchen Market Traders Association, said green chilli is being sold at Tk 400-450 per kg at wholesale market while it is being sold at Tk 600 at retail market.
“Already the price of green chilli has started to come down and it will be sold at Tk 50-60 per kg within two days,” he said. According to our correspondents, the prices of green chillies have started to come down at Mahasthan Hat in Bogra, the wholesale market for vegetables. Within a day, the price of green chillies has decreased by half to Tk 250 on Sunday.
On Saturday, the wholesale price of one kg of green chilli was Tk 500 at Mahasthan market one. It was sold for Tk 600 to Tk 700 in Fateh Ali Sabzi retail market of Bogra city after the change of hands of the supplier.
