High Prices of Essentials: Double blow for those with fixed income
The prices of nearly all essentials for daily living have risen in the kitchen market, adding to the woes of the fixed-income population that is reeling from the economic slowdown triggered by the pandemic. The rising prices of sugar, flour and chicken, as well as fish, eggs, cooking oil and spices, have caused prices to rise in recent weeks. This is due to a combination of supply shortages and recovering demand after the pandemic. Yesterday's visit to several capital kitchen markets revealed that sugar was being sold at a rate about 11 percent above the Tk 74-75 per kg government-fixed rate. The sweetener was sold at Tk 80-86 per kg. Abul Hussain is a retail owner in the capital's Shukrabad region. He said that he bought loose sugar from wholesalers at Tk78 per kilogram. "Then, how do we sell it at a government-fixed rate?" Although rice prices are stable, flour has been rising in price. Fine flour and coarse flour (ata), are now available at Tk 42 and