The price of vegetables has suddenly dropped by half

During the three-day nationwide blockade of BNP, the price of vegetables fell in Bogra for just one day. On the first day of the siege, almost like a dream, the prices of vegetables in the Mahasthan of Shivganj, a large wholesale market in Bogra, fell by almost half. But today the price is back to the previous level.

Common people were happy as the prices of vegetables fell due to the blockade, but farmers and traders were unhappy.

Sakyul Islam, a worker of a development organization in Mahasthan, told The Daily Star that yesterday he bought 20 taka per kg of beetroot, 20 taka a gourd and 50 taka two kg of brinjal. Once the price of goods in the country increases, it usually does not decrease again. But yesterday it felt like getting everything again at the same price. It was like a dream.

However, a farmer named Rafiqul Islam said, “Yesterday, the farmers brought a lot of vegetables to the market, so in the end they had to be disappointed. Due to the problem of transportation of vegetables during the blockade, the prices fell. Fewer vegetables are available in the market today due to fear of loss. The price has reached the previous level again. The price may increase further in the coming days.’

Shafiqul Islam, General Secretary of Mahasthan Kachha Bazar Artdars Association, said that before the blockade, the price of a maund of cauliflower was Tk 1800. Yesterday it came down to 700-800 taka. The same amount of cauliflower was sold today at Tk 1400-1500.

Thus the price of brinjal came down from 1500 taka to 600 taka per maund. Sold today for 1200 Tk. Earlier, the price of each gourd was 35 to 40 rupees. Yesterday it was 15-20 rupees. Today the price has increased to 25-26 rupees. Cucumber was 1200 rupees before the siege. Today it is selling for 600 rupees. The price of shrimp before the blockade was Tk 1500. Yesterday was 700 rupees. Today it has risen to 1200 rupees. Earlier it was 1700 taka per maund of radish. Sold today for 700 rupees. Before the blockade, green pepper was Tk 140 per kg. Yesterday it came down to 50 taka. But today it was sold again at the price of 100 taka.

Shafiqul Islam said that the supply of vegetables is low today. Vegetable trucks leave at night. However, long-distance trucks are charging at least 10,000 taka more due to the danger on the road. At the current market price, a truck transports vegetables worth Tk 4 to 4.5 lakh. Now the rent for sending a truck of vegetables to Chittagong is Tk 50 thousand. Before the blockade, this rent was 40 thousand rupees. It takes 30 thousand taka to go to Dhaka. 40 thousand taka to go to Sylhet. He expressed hope that if there is no blockade program, the rent will come down to the previous level again.