The New Nation - Internet Edition

A.T.M.Nurun Nabi

Prices of most of the essentials remained more or less unchanged from the last week despite the ravage of the coastal areas of Bangladesh by the severe hurricane on Thursday night. In view thereof, there were huge rush of the consumers in markets for purchase of the essentials as if all those things would disappear in a little while. Potato, the most fasvourite item, was selling at taka 22 per kilo unchanged from last week. Bean was available at taka 20, down from last week by taka four per kilo while purbal at taka 24.

A consumer said, "Perhaps this is the first time that the vegetable traders did not raise the price despite natural catastrophe. I praise their good sense and hope that it will continue for ever."

Prices of some other items were as under:

Green spinach taka 20, palk taka 24, calery 30, onion taka 56 (imported) and 65 (local), garlic taka 50, ginger taka 60, brinjal 24 to 28, bean taka 20, purbal taka 24, bitter gourd taka 28, radish taka 16 and green chili taka 50 to 60. A small size of cabbage was selling at taka 12 while a gourd of two and a half kilo at taka 35.

The cauliflower has arrived in the city markets in abundance. Many of them have already lost their freshness because of the retailers' lack of farsightedness. Generally consumers turn their faces if they find it attacked by virus. Watching it, the retailers abnormally raise the price of the remaining vegetables to adjust the price of the unsold item. Artificial crisis is, thus, engineered.

Yet the vegetables price is in average tolerable but the rice price hangs heavy on the bosoms of the consumers. The coarse rice still sells at taka 24 to 26 but the miniket variety increases by taka one with the nazisail variety remaining unchanged.

The finest quality of the miniket variety sells at taka 35 per kilo, up by taka three from the last week of October.

Abdur Rahman (not real name), resident of Motijheel, said, "The coming four months may be hard as the harvesting of boro begins in March 2008.