Amdadul Haque
In the wake of identification of coronavirus in the country, consumers are seemingly prone to buying and storing different kinds of daily essentials to cope with emergencies and to avoid gathering in the markets.
Moving around several markets, including Karwanbazar, and departmental stores, the Bangladesh Post correspondent found consumers buying more essential goods in the capital on Thursday. Buyers said that they do not want to come to the market repeatedly in such situation, so they are buying goods as much as they can.
The wholesalers and retailers of various products have also confirmed that consumers are purchasing additional products.
Abdul Malik, a wholesale onion seller at Karwanbazar, said retailers have been buying more everyday commodities, including onion, ginger and garlic, for a few days. He said they have enough onions in stock and the price is still stable.
Siddiqur Rahman, a wholesaler of the same market, said that retailers of rice are charging double. The retailers, who used to buy 50kg of rice, are now taking 100kg. Those who took 100 kg, they are now taking 200 kg. The demand for rice has also increased prices. In all types of rice, the wholesale price has increased from 0.50 taka to 1 taka per kg.
Meanwhile, retailers are also saying the same thing. Karwanbazar’s grocery store keeper Kayes Mia said most of the customers are shopping more now a days. Those, who used to do shopping a little, are also going for monthly shopping. For example, those who had previously taken one packet of powdered milk are now taking three, some are taking five also. Again, those who take a bottle of five liters of oil are taking two bottles.
While talking with this reporter, Noor Mohammad, a customer, said they are preparing themselves ahead of time to face any possible crisis. Some daily products can be stored at home, so they are buying these. Again, everyone is avoiding public meetings.
Some are going to the super shops to shop avoiding raw markets due to environmental problems. Hazera Begum, a housewife in Mohammadpur area, said while shopping at a super shop in Shyamoly, “I heard that coronavirus originated from a meat market in China. From then, I do not go to the kitchen markets and use to purchase from super shops.”
On the other hand, though consumers are buying more products, there is sufficient stock of products in the market. However, some fear the price may hike.
Retail rice seller Ali Hossain said the price may not go up. But the way people are shopping, the supply will be limited at a time. Then the price will rise at the wholesale level.
Sources said, traders have raised prices of some daily commodities fearing that imports from China will be hampered after a certain period due to the impact of coronavirus.
Md Humayun Kabir, spokesman of the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), told Bangladesh Post that they have sufficient stock of products. There is no possibility of price hike right now due to coronavirus.
Humayun Kabir further said, “We do not have information on rising prices of goods at wholesale and retail markets of Dhaka. TCB has sufficient stock of sugar, oil, pulse, onion etc.”
