The volatility of onion market is on the rise. The price of per kilogram of onion has increased by Tk 20 per kg on Wednesday. In the last one and a half months, the price of the product increased by at least Tk 100. In the beginning of September, onion was sold in the capital at the rate of 50 to 52 taka per kg. The price of imported onion has also increased. In the retail market yesterday, the price of onion was Tk 140-145. The Commerce Secretary is expecting the arrival of onion from Turkey and Egypt next week. And the price will go down then.
However, dealers believe that, it will take at least 15-20 days for the price to go down. Yesterday, commerce secretary Jafaruddin said onions imported from Egypt and Turkey could take one week to arrive. The onions will arrive in the market in the second week of November. There is no possibility of resolving the crisis before then. He urged all to be patient till this time.
Importers say a different story even though the commerce secretary is hopeful. Meghna Group, City Group and S Alam Group have been responsible for importing onions from Egypt and Turkey. They said that no ships come directly to Bangladesh from any of the countries. They have to transit to Singapore port. Therefore, it takes at least 20 days for a ship to reach the port of the country. That too will be possible if the government urged the Singapore port to release the ship faster.
In this regard, General Manager of City Group Biswajit Saha told, “We have received approval to import onions from Turkey. Already our onion has reached the port of Turkey. They are to leave the port today. Accordingly, onion will arrive at the port of the country on 20-21.
Yesterday, at the local wholesale market for onion at Shyamabazar the price was Tk 120-125 per kg and Tk 110-115 in Myanmar. Earlier in the day, the price of domestic onion was around Tk 118-122 and in Myanmar Tk 110-112. An onion trader at Karwan Bazar, who is reluctant to be named, said the city corporation writes its own price at their own will. One can never find a similarity between the price of the market and the price they fix.
