The prices of Miniket rice and most vegetables dropped on the capital’s kitchen markets thanks to the ongoing boro harvesting season and abundant supply, but that of onions remained high.

According to traders, the price of freshly arrived Miniket rice dropped by Tk 10-15 a kilogram over the past few weeks.

Moreover, due to the abundant supply, prices of most summer vegetables witnessed a slight fall over the past few weeks.

On Friday, after visiting some kitchen markets, including Karwan Bazar, Agargaon Taltola Bazar and Kallyanpur Natun Bazar, it was seen that fine Miniket rice of different brands was sold at Tk 65-82 a kilogram, which was Tk 75-100 a few weeks ago.

However, the prices of coarse rice and fine variant of Nazirshail remained the same on the day.

A trader at Karwan Bazar said that the price of rice dropped due to the arrival of new boro rice.

‘The rice extracted from newly harvested boro paddy has already arrived on the markets and companies lowered the item’s wholesale price, which also impacted the retail price,’ he added.

Usually, boro paddy is used to make thinner and finer Miniket rice.

However, the prices of old rice and coarse and Nazirshail variants remained high.

On Friday, as in the past few weeks, they were sold at Tk 52-65 a kilogram.

The prices of almost all vegetables witnessed a slight drop on Friday, though those of onions and garlic s remained high as they had been for the past few weeks.

Onions were sold at Tk 55-60 a kilogram, while garlic was sold at Tk 130 for the local variant and Tk 200 for the imported variant.

Spiny gourd was sold at Tk 60 a kilogram, which was Tk 80-100 just a week ago. Snake gourd, loofa, pointed gourd, yardlong bean and bitter gourd were sold at Tk 50-60 a kilogram on the markets.

Lady fingers were sold for Tk 40-50 at Karwan Bazar and Tk 50-60 at local markets and round aubergines were sold for Tk 60 a kilogram and long ones for Tk 80-90.

Wax gourd and bottle gourd were sold, depending on their sizes, for Tk 40-80 apiece.

Most items were Tk 5-15 more in the last week.

The prices of green chillis dropped significantly to Tk 40-60 a kilogram, depending on the variant, from Tk 50-100 last week.

The prices of potatoes remained unchanged, at Tk 20 a kilogram.

However, as tomato season ended, price of the item rose up to Tk 50 a kilogram, from Tk 30 last week.

Broiler chicken prices fell to Tk 160-180 a kilogram, from Tk 180-190 in the past weeks.

However, the price of eggs saw a sharp hike to Tk 135-145 a dozen, up from that of Tk 125-130 on last Friday.

Rafiqul Islam, a trader at Karwan Bazar kitchen market, told New Age that vegetable prices heavily depend on supply and peak season.

‘As there was a supply shortage throughout April and first half of May, the price went up. The fresh harvested summer vegetables are now abundant on the market, which caused the recent price drop. The price may fall further in the coming weeks,’ he added.

However, due to a shortage in supply, the prices of fish have remained high.

Recently, the government increased the retail price of bottled soya bean oil by Tk 14 a litre, bringing it to Tk 189 from Tk 175 a litre.

The new price of a five-litre bottle of soya bean oil has been fixed at Tk 922, up from that of Tk 852 earlier.

Prices of unpackaged soya bean and palm oil have been fixed at Tk 169 a litre, up from Tk 157 a litre.

The price of beef and mutton stayed the same, at about Tk 750-800 a kilogram and Tk 1,100-1,200 a kilogram respectively.