Price of chillies, other essentials sliding back to normal in Dhaka

The price of chillies which had almost shot up to twice normal in the Bangladesh capital during the Muslim festival of Eid is slowly sliding back, a market survey has revealed.

A wholesaler of chillies said the indigenous variety of chillies was being sold at Tk 100 to 120 a kilo while the Indian variety was selling at Tk 80-90 a kilo, bdnews.com reported.

Bangladeshi Taka 100 is equal to Indian Rs 85.60.

The supply of Indian chillies will further push the price of the commodity down, traders said.

Hilsa fish and salt, the two other commodities that exhibited a price hike during the festival period, are also expected to sell at normal prices soon, according to traders.

"Salt price is expected to come down. We are, therefore, maintaining a low stock of the commodity," said a salt trader from Karwan Bazar, in Dhaka.

Despite a difference of Tk 50-100 in market price, Hilsa is still within the reach of the common man, as 800 gram of the fish is selling at Tk 600-650 at the Mohammadpur Agricultural Market, Tk 500-550 at Karwan Bazar and Tk 550-600 at Mohakali Market.

Mohammadpur Agricultural Market fish trader Anwar said the Hilsa price would continue to be low till September 29 after which the catching of Hilsa fish would be prohibited.

--IANS

sm/dg