Wheat flour bakes low, mid-income people, sells at Tk 52 per kg

After hiking per kilogram of coarse rice to Tk 55, the price of bulk flour shot up 24 percent to Tk 52 to Tk 55, in the span of the last one month.

Flour price inflation has pushed the low and middle-income people into trouble, shoppers said.

However, the prices of eggs, broiler chickens and vegetables have declined, bringing a little respite to bottom tier people across the city.

While visiting several kitchen markets and grocery stores and shops in Kawran Bazar, Farmgate Mogbazar and Malibagh areas, the correspondent found no fresh change in the prices of daily commodities.

But it was found that the prices of most of the daily essentials got higher than before.

According to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), the price of per kilogram unpackaged wheat flour rose to Tk 50 to Tk 55 which is around 24 percent higher than that of the previous month.

Meanwhile, some companies have set their two- kilogram packaged flour at Tk 125 while representatives of some other companies are saying that they will also increase flour prices.

Earlier, the retail price of two kilogram packaged flour was Tk 115.

In the beginning of the current month, the price of two kilograms of packaged flour was near about Tk 104 and the price has gone up to Tk 10 per kilogram.

Rabiul Islam, a trader at Kawran Bazar, told the correspondent that the price of flour has been showing an increasing trend for the last two weeks. The sales have fallen due to the fresh price hike, he added.

According to government data, the country has an annual demand for 75 lakh tonnes of wheat and of which it has to import around 65 lakh tonnes to meet the local demand.

The price of wheat flour has increased since the Russia-Ukraine war and according to the TCB, the price of flour shot up around 67 percent in the last one year.

Besides, the price per four pieces of eggs of farmed chicken has come down to Tk 40, which was Tk 55 to Tk 60 a week ago.

At the same time, the price of broiler chicken has decreased and is selling at Tk 170 per kg which was Tk 200 in the previous week. A few months go it was being sold at Tk 140 per kilogram.

On August 23, the price of soybean oil was once again increased and per litre of bottled soybean oil was set at Tk 192 in the retail markets.

But the soybean oil was seen selling at a higher rate at Kawran Bazar kitchen market than the fixed rate.

The correspondent found no change in the prices of daily commodities including rice, lentil, onion, garlic and ginger. But the price of per kilogram dried chili went up to Tk 500 from Tk 450 a kg.

Most of the vegetables were seen being sold between Tk 50 and Tk 60 per kilogram.