Vegetable retail and supply
Buy at the wholesale arat at dawn, sell retail all day. On 14 Sept 2026 in Dhaka, potato was Tk 15-20 wholesale against Tk 25-30 retail, and onion Tk 24-42 against Tk 45-55.
- Last reviewed: 19 September 2026
- Version 1
Vegetable retail and supply
- Starting capital
- ৳10,000 – ৳1,50,000 Editorial estimate
- Manpower
- 1 – 3 people
- First sale
- 1 – 15 days Editorial estimate
- Break-even
- 1 – 2 months Editorial estimate
- Kind of work
- Shop · Easy
About the business
Buying vegetables at the wholesale arat before dawn and selling them retail through the day. It can be run from a van, a basket or a corner of the bazaar, so the entry cost is low. This is the one trade where the margin does not have to be guessed, because the government prints both sides of it. On 14 September 2026 the Department of Agricultural Marketing recorded, for Dhaka city markets, potato at Tk 15-20 per kg wholesale against Tk 25-30 retail, and local onion at Tk 24-42 wholesale against Tk 45-55 retail - a gap of Tk 10 to Tk 21 a kilo, or 24 to 47 percent. That gap is not profit. Spoilage, weight loss and the evening clear-out at giveaway prices all come out of it. Cash arrives daily and stock must be bought again daily, so one slow day leaves nothing to take to the arat the next morning, and an empty stall sends customers next door. Winter brings cheap, varied supply and the best selling; the monsoon brings short supply, jumpy prices and the heaviest spoilage. The traders who last are the ones who write down how many kilos actually move each day and buy to that number.
Unit economics
| Item | Range | Evidence | Suggest a correction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly working capital | ৳5,000 – ৳66,000 | Editorial estimate | |
| Selling price | ৳25 – ৳55 / kg | Official source | |
| Variable cost | ৳15 – ৳42 / kg | Official source | |
| Gross margin | 24% – 47% | Official source | |
| Time to first revenue | 1 – 15 days | Editorial estimate | |
| Break-even time | 1 – 2 months | Editorial estimate | |
| Cash cycle | 0 – 1 days | Editorial estimate | |
| Waste / loss | 5% – 15% | Editorial estimate | |
| Daily capacity | 60 – 400 | Editorial estimate |
What you need to start
- Scales and weights, baskets or crates, sacking or a tarpaulin, something to sprinkle water with, and a van to the arat, owned or hired.Equipment
- Stock bought fresh every day, counted in two groups: keepers like potato, onion and pumpkin, and one-day goods like leafy greens, tomato and cucumber.Starting stock
- Trade licence from the city corporation or municipality: form Tk 10, licence book Tk 50, standard tax Tk 30, stamp Tk 150-300, licence fee Tk 100-60,000 by trade type, plus VAT and signboard fee. Issued in 3-5 working days.Licence
- Judging by eye what will sell today and what will rot by tomorrow, and separating good from damaged at the moment of buying so the price reflects it.Skill
- A fixed wholesale arat and a dealer you know there. In Dhaka the government takes daily wholesale prices from eleven markets including Karwan Bazar, Jatrabari and Shyambazar.Supplier
- A spot in or beside the bazaar with shade and water. Without a dry floor and moving air the stock goes off within two days.Workspace
How the work is done
- 1Decide which arat you will buy from. In Dhaka the Department of Agricultural Marketing collects daily wholesale prices from eleven markets including Karwan Bazar, Jatrabari, Shyambazar, Kaptan Bazar, Tejgaon and Mirpur-1 and 2. Those are the main sources.
- 2Before opening, stand in the bazaar morning and evening for a few days and watch what actually moves. What sells in your locality decides your buying list.
- 3Take a trade licence from the city corporation or municipality: form Tk 10, licence book Tk 50, standard tax Tk 30, stamp Tk 150-300, plus the licence fee by trade type. It takes 3-5 working days with the papers ready.
- 4Take a spot or a stall in the bazaar. Shade, water and a dry floor are what keep spoilage down; baskets in open sun leave the greens wilted by noon.
- 5Fix how you get to the arat at dawn: your own van, a hired van, or a shared trip with other traders. Work out what the cartage costs per kilo and count it in at the time of buying.
- 6Check the official rates before you go. The Department of Agricultural Marketing publishes both wholesale and retail prices every day, so you will know when the arat is asking too much.
- 7Write down how many kilos actually sell each day and buy to that. Keeping goods like potato and onion is safe; leafy greens, tomato and cucumber must be bought to measure.
- 8Sell at two prices in a day: the fresh price in the morning, and a cut price in the evening for whatever is left. A discount beats a bin.
- 9Arrange regular supply to nearby rice hotels, messes and canteens. It guarantees a base volume every day, but put the credit terms in writing first.
- 10Put money aside before winter. From November to February vegetables are cheap and varied and selling is at its best, while the monsoon squeezes everything.
Seasons
- JanHigh
- FebHigh
- MarNormal
- AprNormal
- MayNormal
- JunLow
- JulLow
- AugLow
- SepLow
- OctNormal
- NovHigh
- DecHigh
Where it works well
- Strong fitChattogram · A large port city thick with hotels and restaurants, and vegetables also come down from the hill districts.
- Strong fitDhaka · Eleven wholesale markets including Karwan Bazar, Jatrabari, Shyambazar and Kaptan Bazar supply stock daily, and dense settlement gives the highest retail demand.
- Strong fitGazipur · Dense settlement of factory workers and their families keeps demand for cheap, keepable vegetables steady all year.
- Strong fitMunshiganj · A main potato growing and cold-storage district right beside Dhaka, so buying is cheap and cartage is short.
- Strong fitNarayanganj · Close to Dhaka's arats, densely settled, with many messes and factory canteens giving a fixed daily volume.
- PossibleBogura · The vegetable and potato trading centre of the north, on the highway, so consignments move easily.
- PossibleCumilla · Steady demand from Dhaka-Chattogram highway hotels and local bazaars, with its own production as well.
- PossibleJashore · A big vegetable growing area that ships to Dhaka, so local buying is cheap, though purchasing power is lower than in Dhaka.
- PossibleManikganj · A vegetable area close to Dhaka; picked at dawn it reaches the capital's arats the same morning.
- PossibleRangpur · A major source of winter vegetables. Buying is very cheap in season, but local selling prices fall then too.
Risks and cautions
- HighSpoilage: Greens, tomato, cucumber and leafy vegetables are one-day goods. In the monsoon and the heat much of what is not sold by evening cannot fetch full price the next day. With only Tk 10-21 a kilo of gap, a modest amount of spoilage erases it, so buying the right quantity is the whole calculation.
- HighWorking capital: Cash must go to the arat every dawn, because the arat does not sell on credit. One bad day of selling means less money to buy with the next morning, a half-empty stall, and customers moving to the next trader. Once that spiral starts it is hard to break.
- MediumDemand: The price is not in your hands. On 14 September 2026 local onion ranged from Tk 24 to Tk 42 wholesale - nearly double, on the same day in the same city. Good stock costs Tk 42, but retail will not take more than Tk 55, leaving only Tk 13 a kilo.
- MediumLate payment: Rice hotels, messes and canteens buy steadily but on credit and pay at month end, while the arat needs cash every morning. A large outstanding balance stops the morning purchase.
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Where to buy
কৃষি বিপণন অধিদপ্তর
The agricultural marketing department: daily market prices, market linkage, and the licence for trading farm produce.
খামারবাড়ী, প্রথম ভবন, ৫ম তলা, ফার্মগেট, ঢাকা–১২১৫, DhakaUsed by 6 businesses
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App and hotline for hiring trucks and covered vans to move goods from one district to another.
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ShopUp (Mokam)
Through its Mokam platform a small shop can source food and household stock wholesale, straight from mills and manufacturers.
429–432, Tejgaon I/A, Dhaka 1208, BangladeshUsed by 8 businesses
বাংলাদেশ কোল্ড স্টোরেজ অ্যাসোসিয়েশন
The national association of cold storage owners; the place to ask where potato, onion or fruit can be stored and at what rate.
BCSA Bhaban, 38, Purana Paltan, Dhaka-1000. Tel: 9562932, 9555252, 9554883, 223382932, 223350957, 223351250; Cell: 01711568081, 01841310300Used by 5 businesses
Mostofa Cold Storage (Pvt) Ltd.
A cold storage at Shalaipur in Mithapukur, Rangpur, where potato and other produce can be held after harvest.
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Kishan Himagar Limited
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A cold storage at Jagannathpur in Thakurgaon for holding potato, seed potato and other produce.
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A cold storage company; storage is arranged through its Khilgaon office in Dhaka.
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Rangamati Cold Storage Ltd.
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বাংলাদেশ পটেটো এক্সপোর্টার্স অ্যাসোসিয়েশন
The potato exporters' association — where to ask about the rules and the buyers for sending potato abroad.
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The importers' association of Badamtoli, Dhaka's wholesale fruit market — the starting point for buying fruit wholesale.
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বাংলাদেশ এগ্রো-বেজড প্রোডাক্ট প্রডিউসার্স অ্যান্ড মার্চেন্টস অ্যাসোসিয়েশন
The association of agro-based product makers and merchants; useful for finding buyers and selling produce.
164/1, D.I.T. Extension Road (2nd Floor), opposite Fakirapul Water Tank, Dhaka-1000. Tel: 880248313711; Mob: 01716-986105, 01924855507Used by 5 businesses
বাংলাদেশ লাইভ অ্যান্ড চিল্ড ফুড এক্সপোর্টার্স অ্যাসোসিয়েশন
The association of live and chilled food exporters (fish, crab, vegetables) — relevant to anyone shipping through a cold chain.
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বগুড়া চেম্বার অব কমার্স অ্যান্ড ইন্ডাস্ট্রি
The business body of Bogura, the trading centre of the north; membership, trade certificates and local wholesale contacts.
Chamber Bhaban, Jhawtola, Bogura-5800. Tel: +88 02589903558Used by 4 businesses
রংপুর চেম্বার অব কমার্স অ্যান্ড ইন্ডাস্ট্রি
Rangpur's business body with about 4,500 members — the local point of contact for potato and farm produce traders.
Chamber Bhaban, G.L. Roy Road, Nawabganj, Rangpur-5400. Tel: 02589967693Used by 3 businesses
মুন্সীগঞ্জ চেম্বার অব কমার্স অ্যান্ড ইন্ডাস্ট্রি
The business body of Munshiganj, the country's biggest potato district; the office is at Mir Kadim, Kamloghat.
Mir Kadim, Kamloghat, Munshiganj. Dhaka mailing address: Noor Tower, 147/4, Green Road, Panthopath, Dhaka-1205Used by 2 businesses
কুমিল্লা চেম্বার অব কমার্স অ্যান্ড ইন্ডাস্ট্রি
Cumilla's business body on Rammala Road, Ranir Bazar — local contact for vegetable, paddy and Akhaura border trade.
Chamber Building, Rammala Road, Ranir Bazar, CumillaUsed by 3 businesses
কৃষি বিপণন অধিদপ্তর: দৈনিক বাজারদর অনলাইন
The government's online market-price service, showing daily wholesale and retail prices from markets across the country so a trader can check rates before buying or selling.
DhakaUsed by 8 businesses
ট্রেডিং কর্পোরেশন অব বাংলাদেশ (টিসিবি)
State trading body that procures and sells essential commodities such as soybean oil, lentils, sugar, chickpeas, onion and dates through open-market sales and appointed dealers.
DhakaUsed by 3 businesses
Sources
সিটি কর্পোরেশন থেকে ট্রেড লাইসেন্স প্রাপ্তির ধাপ সমূহ
Collected: 16 Sept 2026Supports: Starting capital · বাংলাদেশ
- Collected: 15 Sept 2026
Supports: Selling price · ঢাকা মহানগর — সিপাহীবাগ, মিরপুর-৬, মোহাম্মদপুর টাউন হল, নিউমার্কেট, রামপুরা, মহাখালী বাজার
ঢাকা মহানগরীর বাজার সমূহের ১৪.০৯.২০২৬ খ্রি. তারিখের পেঁয়াজ ও আলুর পাইকারী ও খুচরা বাজারদর
Collected: 14 Sept 2026Supports: Starting capital, Gross margin, Selling price, Variable cost · ঢাকা মহানগরী
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