Dhaka, Oct 15 – The price of onions once again shot up in the city markets and elsewhere in the country and touched per kg onion to Tk 100 in the last three days. The price of per kg local onion was sold at Tk 80 and Indian at Tk 70 even three days ago but the price of per kg onion increased by Tk 10-15 per kg.
The traders blamed the syndicate behind increasing the opinion prices by creating artificial crises of the staple.
Talking to reporters, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, however, assured the people that India would withdraw its ban on exporting onion soon and then Bangladesh onion market is expected to be stable.
In Chittagong there is no crisis of onion at Khatunganj, the biggest wholesale market in the country and they can sale onion at a lower price.
The per kg Myanmar’s onion was sold yesterday at Tk 35-70 varying the quality while Indian onion at Tk 80-85 while Egypt’s onion at Tk 75 at Khatunganj.
Chittagong district administration at a meeting on Sunday warned that a section of unscrupulous businessmen is trying to increase the price of onion once again.
The meeting decided to carry out drives both at local and whole markets to keep the market stable.
A businessman at Karwan Bazar in the capital alleged new crisis of onion has been created in the market as most of the imported onion is substandard and being rotten.
He, however, accused the syndicate behind increasing the price of onion.
A consumer at Jatrabari wholesale market expressed his disappointment saying that how the onion price become soar despite the market monitoring by the TCB, consumers rights protection department and commerce ministry.
Nasiruddin, a shopkeeper at Mirpur section-10 told this correspondent that per kg local onion was sold yesterday at Tk 95-100 while Indian onion at Tk 90.
Meanwhile, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi said that India is likely to withdraw its ban on exporting onion later this month and the onion market would be stable soon.
He termed the price hike of onion temporary one and the pressure in the onion market was increased due to closure of exporting it from the major source country.
The Minister argued that even in India per kg onion is being sold at 55-60 rupees now.
“I have talked to the Indian commerce minister. I hope that they will withdraw the ban on exporting onion from later this month,” he added.
In the wake of increasing onion prices in demotic markets, the Indian commerce ministry on September 29 banned all onion exports to control the price of the kitchen staple.
With imposing Indian ban, onions price exceeds Tk 100 per kg at the retail market across the country with an average hike to Tk 30 to 40 per kg immediately.
The price of onion, however, came down within a couple of days as the government took some measures including monitoring of markets and selling onion at Open Market Sale (OMS) at a price of Tk 45 per kg.
Earlier on September 13, the Indian government fixed the minimum export rate for onion at USD 850 per metric ton that actually helps to create the turmoil in the onion market in Bangladesh. – Staff Reporter
