English 
Bengali 
In the last week, prices of essential commodities in Dhaka’s markets have fallen significantly to the delight of consumers particularly those belonging to lower and middle class households. The drop in prices can be attributed to the season of production of certain items, government intervention and surveillance. Consequently, essential commodities such as edible oil, potatoes, onions, sugar, eggs and vegetables are available at cheaper prices.
According to traders both a rise in supply and a fall in demand especially right after the initial surge in demand before Ramadan have been instrumental in the price declines. Additionally, government actions in particular the cuts to VAT on edible oil and sugar imports have helped stabilize the market for several days. Moreover, monitoring agency efforts have continued in the market to limit price gouging and increase supply relieving market pressure.
Even with this positive trend, the price of broiler chicken which is a primary protein source is marginally rising due to disruptions in the supply chain and fluctuating demand. However, the overall market trend is a positive one as many essential items are becoming increasingly more accessible to consumers.
The following table provides a detailed comparison of price changes for various essential commodities over the past week.
| PRODUCT (KG/LTR) | PRICES ON MAR 12 | PRICES ON MAR 19 | DECREASE |
| Soybean oil | Tk 174-184 | Tk 157-168 | 9.22% |
| Palm oil | Tk 146-155 | Tk 145-153 | 1% |
| Potato | Tk 20-30 | Tk 18-30 | 4% |
| Sugar | Tk 118-125 | Tk 115-120 | 3.29% |
| Eggs (4 pieces) | Tk 40-45 | Tk 38-45 | 2.35% |
| Ginger | Tk 100-220 | Tk 100-200 | 6.25% |
| Local onion | Tk 35-50 | Tk 30-50 | 5.88% |
| Local garlic | Tk 200-240 | Tk 150-200 | 25% |
| Broiler chicken | Tk 185-205 | Tk 190-210 | Increased 2.56% |
| Eggplant | Tk 80-110 | Tk 60-90 | ~20% |
| Cucumber | Tk 50-70 | Tk 40-50 | ~20% |
| Tomato | Tk 30-35 | Tk 20-25 | ~28% |
| Green chillies | Tk 60-80 | Tk 50-60 | ~16% |
