Prices of vegetables, fish and meat all climbing in Sylhet, low-income families struggling with daily market costs
Walk into any kitchen market in Sylhet city now and shoppers can be seen asking the price of one item after another. Hearing the prices, some buy less than they need, while others strike items off their list altogether. Vegetables, fish, chicken and eggs — almost everything costs extra money to buy. People on limited incomes are struggling to meet the cost of daily necessities including rice and lentils.
Visiting different markets in Sylhet city on Wednesday (October 21), this was the picture among shoppers. Although incomes have not risen, the daily cost of the market has gone up, forcing many families to cut back on their food lists.
Shoppers complain that household incomes are the same as before, yet marketing now costs more money than it used to. If they buy fish, they have to take less vegetables; if they buy other necessities, the food budget has to be trimmed.
Vegetable prices vary across the city's markets. Brinjal is selling at Tk 80 to 120 per kg, carrots at Tk 100 to 120 and tomatoes at Tk 180 to 200. Pointed gourd, okra and snake gourd cost Tk 60 to 80. Yardlong beans are Tk 80 to 100 and taro stems Tk 80 per kg. New beans cost Tk 180 to 200. Potatoes, however, are available at Tk 30 and papaya at Tk 15 to 20 per kg. Prices of these items differ by market and quality.
Alongside vegetables, buyers also have to pay extra for fish, meat and eggs. Broiler chicken is selling at Tk 180 per kg, Sonali chicken at Tk 290 to 320 and red layer chicken at Tk 360. A dozen farm red eggs costs Tk 150 to 155. Beef is selling at Tk 780 to 800 per kg and mutton at Tk 1,300.
There is no relief for shoppers in the fish market either. Depending on size and quality, rui is selling at Tk 400 to 550 per kg, catla at Tk 350 to 500 and mrigal at Tk 350 to 450. Farmed pangas costs Tk 180 to 220 and tilapia Tk 220 to 240 per kg.
Ali Raihan, a private-sector employee shopping at Bandar Bazar, said he faces new prices at the market every day. Vegetables he once bought a kilogram of now have to be bought in half a kilogram because of the higher prices. Rice, fish and chicken together have made running the household difficult. Income does not rise with market prices, he said.
He added that a family needs to buy something or other every day. When the prices of all goods are high at the same time, the scope to reduce expenses also becomes limited. If fish is bought, vegetables must be cut; if other necessities are bought, the food expense has to bear the strain.
Nurun Nahar Akter, a housewife shopping at Ambarkhana market, said she has to ask the price of everything at the market. She ends up buying whichever vegetable is comparatively cheaper. Fish costs a lot, and meat cannot be bought regularly at all. If this continues, meeting the family's food expenses will become difficult.
Ashraful Islam, a government employee shopping in the Rikabi Bazar area, said that earlier, buying some fish along with vegetables more or less covered the week's marketing. Now, with fish prices high, quantities have to be reduced. Ordinary people are struggling to balance the market budget. Regular monitoring is needed to control prices, he said.
Retail sellers say they have to buy goods at high prices from the wholesale market. With transport and shop-running costs added on top, it has become difficult to sell goods to customers at lower prices.
Shahjahan Ali, a vegetable seller at Bandar Bazar, said vegetables have to be bought at high prices from the wholesale market. Transport costs and shop expenses are added to the purchase price. So selling at a lower price is not possible. However, not all vegetables cost the same; prices rise and fall depending on supply and quality.
Rukon, a fish seller in the Ambarkhana area, said it now takes more money than before to buy fish from the wholesale depot. The price depends on the type, size and supply of fish. If bought dear, it is hard to sell cheap. And when prices are high, customers no longer buy fish as they used to.
The effect of higher prices is also visible in the chicken and egg market, sellers said. Shamsul Islam, a chicken seller at Ambarkhana market, said when prices rise, customers reduce the quantity. Someone who once bought two kilograms of chicken now buys one kilogram, while some leave without buying after hearing the price. Because wholesale prices fluctuate, it is not possible to sell at the same price every day either.
Those concerned believe that to keep the prices of daily necessities in the market tolerable, monitoring needs to be increased at every stage from production to retail sale. When prices rise in the wholesale market, transport and shop-running costs are added and the effect reaches the retail market too. But because prices differ by supply, quality and market, identifying the real reasons for the price rise is essential. Verifying consistency among prices in production areas, wholesale depots and retail markets, keeping the supply system normal and taking effective steps against unjustified price hikes could ease the pressure on buyers to some extent — and help people on limited incomes retain their ability to buy daily necessities. Shoppers have demanded regular market monitoring and keeping the prices of essentials at a tolerable level.
