Eid's first bite: Relief in Vermicelli, aromatic rice, spike in milk
Eid-ul-Fitr dawns with a lighter wallet this year—at least for some staples. Vermicelli, sugar, and fragrant rice, the trio of morning zarda-polao bliss, will not pinch as hard, their prices dipping below last year’s strain. Milk, though? That is a different churn, with liquid and powdered packs nudging up. As markets buzz with holiday hustle, it is a mixed bag of relief and rue.
A sigh for sweets
No mad dash for vermicelli this Eid. At Khilgaon’s Taltala Bazar, 200-gram lachchha (hand-pulled and fried) vermicelli packets go for Tk 45-50, white vermicelli holds at Tk 45, and ghee-fried specials range from Tk 210 to 450 for 400 grams. Open stocks? Lachcha is Tk 180-220 per kg, white is Tk 120-180—steady as last year, says Bikrampur Store’s Abdur Rashid. “Unpacked vermicelli is even cheaper now,” he grins, a rare Ramadan win.
Sugar is sweeter too— Tk 115-120 per kg, down from last Eid’s Tk 130-140. Aromatic rice mirrors it at Tk 115-120, a Tk 20 drop. “No rice woes this time,” beams Jamal Hossain of Rampura’s Bhai Bhai Store. “Good stuff, better price.” The Eid table’s looking up—less fat to fry, more joy to savour.
Milk’s bitter rise
Then comes the milk hitch. Liquid is hitting Tk 100 per litre, thanks to Milk Vita’s March 21 hike—half-litres up from Tk 50 to 55, one litres from Tk 90 to Tk 100. Aarong and Pran joined the climb last November, but Milk Vita’s lag kept it kinder till now. Powdered milk is no picnic either—Diploma is Tk 860 per kg, Fresh Tk 810-820, Starship Tk 650 taka—up Tk 30 since January, sellers nod. Companies held off in Ramadan, they add, but the sting is still fresh.
Abul Hossain, haggling at Malibagh Bazar, shrugs: “Milk is steep, sure. But that yearly Eid panic? Gone. If it had not jumped, we would be golden.”
Nuts and raisins—almonds at Tk 120-200 per kg, cashews Tk 1,200-1,600, raisins Tk 400-500—hold last year’s line, softening the blow.
Markets alive, wallets mixed
Since the holiday kicked off, Dhaka’s daily goods markets hum with crowds—vermicelli, sugar, spices flying off shelves. “It’ll run ‘til moon night,” a seller predicts, eyes on the rush.
Relief is real where it counts—vermicelli is steady, sugar and rice ease off—but milk’s uptick sours the mood. For Eid’s first bite, most can chew easy; the glass, though, stays half full—or half pricey.
