Increase in fuel oil prices has already started pushing up prices of essential goods as truck owners started charging increased fare.
Several traders at Karwan Bazar and Shyambazar in the capital told New Age that prices of some vegetables had already increased because of increased transport cost.
They alleged that truck owners were charging 20–30 per cent more on fare although the price of diesel increased by 11.45 per cent.
The government increased prices of diesel and kerosene, earlier priced at Tk 61 a litre, by Tk 7.
Prices of petrol was increased by Tk 5 a litre to sell for Tk 96 and of octane also by Tk 5 a litre to sell for Tk 99.
Abu Hanif, a vegetable trader at Karwan Bazar, told New Age that prices of potato, tomato and bean went up because of the increase in transport cost.
He said that usually he would hire a mini-truck for Tk 11,300 to carry beans from Kushtia to Dhaka but in the past three days, he had to pay Tk 13,500.
Hanif also said that earlier, he had to spend Tk 18,000 on a truck carrying potato from Dinajpur to Dhaka but now he had to pay Tk 22,000 in the past three days.
Alamgir Hossain, another trader at Karwan Bazar, said that the wholesale price of potato had increased
on Sunday because of increased fare.
He said that the retail price of potato was Tk 24 a kilogram three days ago but the wholesale price now ranged Tk 24 and Tk 25 to retail for prices between Tk 30 and Tk 32. Beans were retailed for Tk 60.
Mossaraf Hossain, joint secretary of the Shyambazar Krishi Panya Arat Banik Samiti, told New Age that there was no control over the cost of goods transport and truck owners were charging 20–30 per cent extra after the fuel oil price increase.
Traders earlier had to pay Tk 15,000 for a truck carrying potato form Rangpur to Shyambazar in Dhaka but now they needed to spend Tk 22,000, pushing up prices on the retail market, he said.
Rustam Ali, general secretary of the Bangladesh Truck and Covered Van Owners’ Association, said that they had set the fare based on the fuel cost.
He said that there was no fare chart set by the government for truck owners.