Kitchen markets in the capital saw the shortage of local green chilli, which was being sold mostly at Tk 200 per kg in most of the markets yesterday evening. Only a day back, it was sold at Tk 100 to Tk 120 per kg.

However, Indian green chilli was available at Tk 100 to Tk 130 per kg in those markets.

A mixture of both types of green chilli was being sold at Tk 160 per kg.

Abdul Latif Miah, president of the city corporation wholesale market at Karwan Bazar, told The Daily Star that most of the green chilli plants had been damaged in recent flood resulting in a crisis of the chosen ingredient of cooking across the country. He said the price soared steeply due to poor supply and huge demand of green chilli in the capital.

Iman Ali, a green chilli wholesaler at Karwan Bazar, said that supply of local green chilli was 200 to 250 tons every day before floods hit the country. Now, the supply is reduced to 6 to 7 tons everyday as Narsingdi, Pabna, Rajshahi and Manikganj districts, which had been the main sources of green chilli, were affected by recent floods. The supply of green chilli from these districts, which was about 100 tons every day, has fallen drastically, he added.

Another green chilli wholesaler Mohammad Rezaul Karim said that he sold green chilli at Tk 120 per kg on Wednesday night while the price shot up to Tk 140 per kg yesterday morning and Tk 150 in the evening.

He said that he bought about 150 kgs of green chilli from Narsingdi on Wednesday night. Later, he purchased 600 kgs of green chilli at Tk 40 per kg from an importer of Indian green chilli. Of those, 30 to 40% was rotten. He sold the chilli at Tk 60 per kg on Wednesday night and Tk 80 yesterday morning.

Wholesalers at Karwan Bazar said about 100 tons of Indian green chilli was brought at the market four days back when the price of green chilli was Tk 70 per kg.

Green chilli was sold at Tk 160 per kg in Khulna yesterday while the price was Tk 100 per kg on Wednesday, reports our Khulna correspondent.