The government has permitted imports of green chillies from 3 August, saying the measure is intended to increase supply and stabilise prices.
The decision also includes reducing the existing tax on green-chilli imports, Agriculture Minister Mohammad Amin Ur Rashid said.
In Dhaka retail markets, green chillies were selling at Tk320 to Tk380 per kg, after prices had reached up to Tk400 per kg in the preceding days or week.
In Jashore, green chillies were retailing at Tk300 to Tk320 per kg, an increase of Tk50 to Tk60 per kg in two days.
A Jashore shopper said he had paid Tk240 per kg two days earlier before paying Tk300 per kg.
Vegetable sellers and farmers in Jashore attributed the rise to rain damage to chilli fields, reduced local output and lower supplies from outside the district.
The leaseholder of the Satmile Barinagar market said daily chilli arrivals had fallen from about 1,000–1,500 kg a month or two earlier to 300–400 kg.
He said traders were trying to meet Jashore’s demand with chillies from Madhukhali in Faridpur.
Jashore’s deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension said chilli had been cultivated on about 600 hectares this year, compared with about 550 hectares last year.
The official said drought followed by excessive rainfall had damaged fields, while monsoon-season chilli production is normally lower, and expected output to recover within about a month.
Other vegetables in Jashore were also selling at elevated prices, including eggplant at Tk140–160 per kg and bitter gourd at Tk120 per kg.
The agriculture minister said imports could begin to have a positive effect on prices within two to five days; the scale and timing of any reduction remain to be seen.