The unpredictable weather has emerged as a punishing new hazard for low-income people, already battered by stubborn inflation.
Heavy rains have submerged vast swathes of the country, triggering acute supply shortages that have sent the prices of staple foods like rice, vegetables, and fish soaring.
Even standard kitchen staples like potatoes, typically cheap year-round, are fetching premium prices.
Meanwhile, a dramatic surge in the cost of aromatic rice has left both shoppers and retailers bewildered.
In the capital’s kitchen markets, a tense blame game has erupted, with traders pointing fingers at corporate millers for allegedly choking the rice supply, a charge the mill owners vehemently deny.
Desperate for relief, shoppers are travelling from afar to Karwan Bazar, where prices are marginally lower than elsewhere in Dhaka. Yet, many leave empty-handed and deeply disheartened.
Pinky Islam, who braved the torrential downpour to get there, expressed bitter disappointment, noting that prices had inexplicably jumped despite pre-budget promises of relief.
In Badda, Usmani Islam Tanim faced a similar shock when looking for aromatic Chinigura rice, which has spiked from under Tk150 to a staggering Tk180.
Across the board, vegetable prices have climbed by Tk10 to Tk20 per kilogram, making it nearly impossible to find anything below Tk60 to Tk80, with even basic raw papaya commanding Tk50.
Protein is no exception; a dozen eggs now cost Tk10 more, with white eggs at Tk120 and brown ones at Tk130.
According to Karwan Bazar potato seller Sumon Ahmed, potatoes have hit Tk30 per kg, driven up by Dhaka traders capitalising on Gaibandha supplier Subhan Rahman’s report that farmers are withholding stock due to poor returns.
Syndicated rice market?
This price volatility has sparked fierce allegations of market manipulation and syndicates in the rice sector. Official data highlights a bumper Boro harvest, but because the government chose not to raise its procurement rate, farmers have gained nothing, and neither have consumers.
Jahangir Alam, a frustrated farmer from Shailkupa, claimed that corporate millers are deliberately engineering chaos in the paddy market to pocket all the profits.
SM Nazer Hossain, vice-president of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB), backed this up, stating that the price hikes originate strictly at the mill stage, leaving ordinary consumers to bear the financial brunt.
In Northern districts, mills across Naogaon, Rajshahi, and Dinajpur have raised the price of premium Nazirshail rice by Tk200 per 25-kg bag in just a month, while BR-28 rice has gone up by Tk100 per 50-kg bag.
Akhter Uddin, a wholesaler at M/s Haji Rice Bhandar, called the increases completely illogical so soon after the Baishakh harvest, blaming outright manipulation by millers and hoarders.
Retailers like Siddiqur Rahman of Allahr Dan Rice Agency are equally stunned by the cost of aromatic rice, which has skyrocketed from Tk6,600 to Tk8,300 per 50-kg bag, translating to a Tk40 per kg hike for everyday buyers.
In response, Muhammad Hasanuzzaman of the National Consumer Rights Protection Department promised an immediate, coordinated crackdown spanning from the mills to retail counters.
Fish market shoots up
The crisis extends deep into the fish and poultry markets. At Karwan Bazar’s wholesale hub, medium-sized Ruhi fish is trading at Tk400 to Tk420 per kilogram, hitting Tk460 to Tk480 at local stalls after a Tk50 to Tk60 monthly increase.
Even budget-friendly options have vanished; cheap tilapia has jumped by Tk40 to Tk250 per kg, and pangasius, traditionally the last resort for low-income households, now costs between Tk200 and Tk350.
Premium choices like Hilsa have become a luxury, with 800-to-900-gram fish priced at Tk2,000 to Tk2,200 and larger ones above 1kg exceeding Tk2,500 to Tk3,000. Traders blame widespread flooding for decimating the daily catch.
Simultaneously, Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) data confirms that broiler chicken has climbed by Tk20, retailing at Tk160 to Tk180 per kg.
Duty slash leaves no effect
Alarmingly, the government’s recent budget measures have completely failed to tame the market. Despite import duties being slashed on 63 essential commodities, including rice, wheat, and edible oil, and source taxes being cut down to 0.5 per cent, CAB’s SM Nazer Hossain confirms there has been no positive impact.
Retailers across Badda, Rampura, and Malibagh argue that old, heavily taxed stock must clear before shelves see any reductions, with grocers like Md Sharif noting that major supply companies have made no moves to lower oil prices.
Providing a grim reality check, agricultural economist Professor Md Akhtaruzzaman explained that the tax cuts are simply too insignificant to counter rampant inflation, describing the policy as trying to fill a vast ocean with a spoonful of water, as a negligible Tk50 saving in a Tk5,000 market offers no real relief to struggling citizens.
