The prices of all kinds of chicken, meat, and eggs have shot up in the capital's kitchen markets since the start of Ramadan.
Visiting kitchen markets in different areas, the UNB correspondent found that the traders are selling beef at Tk 750 per kg and mutton at Tk1100-1150 per kg.
In a week, the price of all types of chicken increased by Tk 20 to Tk 30 per kg. The price of Pakistani variety chicken has increased to Tk 340-350.
On Saturday, broiler chicken was sold at 250 Tk per kg, marking a hike of Tk 30 a kilogram in a week.
The price of broiler chicken has been on an upward trend throughout the last month. In a month, the price of broiler chicken rose by Tk 100, according to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB).
According to Yunus, a chicken seller from Baridhara Notun Bazar, poultry farmers are unable to supply chicken 'as per demand' due to the increase in chicken feed prices.
“In turn, the chicken market is becoming unstable as well. Therefore, even if we wanted to, we are unable to reduce the price,” he said.
He said the price has increased at the wholesale market in Kaptan Bazar.
"We can't lower prices if wholesale prices continue to rise," he added.
According to the Bangladesh Poultry Association, the daily demand for broiler chicken in the country is 3500 tons.
According to the organization, 20 lakh chickens are bred for consumption in the country every day. The breeding costs Tk 28-30 per chick these days with the increased costs, compared to Tk 10-15 in the first week of January this year.
However, each chick is meant to be sold at Tk 62-68, but it is sold for Tk 80-85. As a consequence, big companies that sell the chicks profit an additional Tk 20-25 per chick.
According to the Bangladesh Poultry Association, these businesses profited an additional Tk 936 crore by raising the price of chicken and chicks.
Atiqul Islam, Mayor of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC), has warned that anyone charging more than the market price set by the government during the month of Ramadan will have their store closed.
"I have convened the councilors in each ward to form a market monitoring committee," the mayor said. Regional executive officers, executive judges, and councilors will also be present.
“We will monitor the full month of Ramadan to see if anyone is overcharging. If anyone reports that you overcharged, I will close the store.“
Meanwhile, the National Directorate of Consumer Rights Protection conducts kitchen market runs on a daily basis.
According to Manzoor Mohammad Shahriar, head of the National Consumer Rights Protection Directorate, drives are ongoing.
"We want to reassure our citizens that there is no scarcity of supplies. "
However, anyone who manipulates the price will face severe consequences, and if there is any irregularity in the market, the corresponding market committee will be held accountable.
A total of 11 teams are monitoring the capital markets. In addition, 65 other teams are working across the whole country, he said.
Meanwhile, the price of a dozen eggs has increased by Tk 13 in a week and are now selling at Tk 150 per dozen.
Rustom Ali, a beef and mutton seller, told UNB that the price of cows and goats, as well as their transportation cost, have increased.
“People buy more meat in the first days of Ramadan. All these reasons contributed to the price hike,” he said.
Ruhul Amin, a buyer, said that as people tend to buy more in the first days of Ramadan, sellers take this opportunity to earn some extra bucks.