Dhaka: Winter has brought a bumper vegetable harvest across Bangladesh, supported by smooth transportation and abundant supply, yet Dhaka’s consumers are seeing little relief at the markets. Visits to several city markets showed that vegetable prices remain stubbornly high, even as farmers complain they are barely recovering production costs, raising fresh questions about possible market manipulation and the role of middlemen in the supply chain.

According to United News of Bangladesh, Dhaka’s kitchen markets are actually awash with winter vegetables, but prices show little sign of easing even in what is traditionally the cheapest season of the year. While consumers continue to pay inflated rates, farmers across producing districts say they are selling their produce at throwaway prices, pointing to a widening gap between farm-gate and retail prices driven largely by middlemen.

Major wholesale markets in the capital receive winter vegetables from Bogura, Naogaon, Chuadanga, Sirajganj, Rajshahi, Jashore, and other districts. Traders report that more than 50 truckloads of vegetables arrive in Dhaka every day from Bogura alone during the peak season. Despite this, wholesalers at Karwan Bazar stated that supply is higher than last year, yet prices have not come down. By late January, wholesale prices were on average Tk 20 per kg higher than the same period a year ago.

Latif Munshi, a vegetable trader at Karwan Bazar, noted that cauliflower sold at Tk 15-20 per kg wholesale last year, whereas this year it is Tk 30-35. Anwar Mia, a trader at the Swarighat wholesale market, echoed this sentiment, stating that prices of cabbage, tomato, cucumber, carrot, and bottle gourd are higher than last year due to increased intermediary costs.

In Bogura’s Sherpur upazila, vegetable grower and trader Naim Meyajan explained that while early varieties fetched good prices between September and November, prices collapsed once peak harvesting began in December. Farmers at Fulbari and Mohasthan haats in Bogura reported that prices of most vegetables started falling sharply by late December, forcing them to sell produce at inflated ‘maund’ calculations and still fail to recover costs.

Despite these challenges for farmers, in Dhaka, prices have moved in the opposite direction. Cauliflower that sold at Tk 25 per piece in late December is now priced at Tk 40-50 depending on size. By contrast, in Sirajganj’s Ullapara upazila, farmer Bhobesh Ghoshal sold cabbage at Tk 6-10 per piece in January, while in Dhaka, those same cabbages are being sold at Tk 20 or more.

The price gap between farmers and consumers is evident with tomatoes as well. In Rajshahi’s Godagari upazila, tomato farmer Moktar Hossain is selling tomatoes at Tk 40 per kg, while in Dhaka, they reach consumers at Tk 100-120 per kg. Radish prices reflect a similar pattern, with a significant markup from farm to retail markets in the capital.

A study by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) highlights that more than 700,000 kg of vegetables are sold daily in Dhaka. With a conservative price gap of Tk 20 per kg between farmers and consumers, the additional daily burden on consumers stands at around Tk 15 million, totaling nearly Tk 500 million over January due to elevated prices.

Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) President AHM Shafiquzzaman blamed market syndicates and weak oversight for the inflated prices. He pointed out that a group of traders is taking advantage of the pre-election period by forming syndicates and destabilizing the vegetable market. Shafiquzzaman warned that prices could rise further during Ramadan, expressing doubts about official assurances of market stability.

Commenting on solutions, former Jahangirnagar University vice-chancellor and agricultural economist Abdul Bayes suggested empowering marginal farmers through the formation of cooperatives to bypass middlemen. He emphasized that if the government can dismantle syndicates in wholesale markets, foster competition, and curb extortion along supply chains, long-term market instability in the vegetable sector could be controlled.