Clicky
National, Front Page

Onion prices still too high, price to stabilize soon


Published : 01 Nov 2019 09:40 PM | Updated : 05 Sep 2020 07:57 AM

Retail prices of onion in the capital the city and other parts of the country continued to go beyond the purchasing capacity of the common consumers. Still expensive, the locally produced onion was selling between Tk 140 and Tk 150 while imported onion cost between Tk 100 and Tk 120.

Retailers blamed whole sellers who are selling the essential item at much higher prices. Meanwhile, rights activists and common people blamed a section of dishonest hoarders for the price hike, saying they have created an artificial crisis through stockpiling onion. In spite of this, the Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi said as 7,000-8,000 tonnes of onion, being shipped from Egypt, would be available by end of this week and he hoped that the prices would be stable by then.

The landing cost of onion imported from Myanmar jumped to Tk 70 per kg on Monday which was Tk 42 about 15 days ago. The commerce ministry had to depend on the onion import from India to meet the deficit of 7-8 lakh tonnes in the country and it is now considering to focus on raising local onion production to prevent such crisis in the future.

On September 29, the Indian government banned the export of onions with immediate effect till further orders for what it says improving domestic availability. Bangladesh has also started importing onions from neighbouring Myanmar as an alternative source to keep its prices stable in the domestic market with adequate supply amid India’s export ban on the essential kitchen item.

Bangladesh is importing onions from Myanmar in two ways – by opening LC and border trade, said the Commerce Ministry urging business people to increase their import volumes and do business maintaining business ethics. Meanwhile, new onions are expected to hit the domestic market from the third week of November.

Officials said that with the fresh import of Indian onion in next few weeks may also contribute to stabilizing the prices of onion shortly. Customers at Dinajpur district Hilli Bazar who come to buy onions at wholesale prices said that onion prices are increasing every day. There is no control or monitoring in the market which turned into a menace to ordinary consumers. The government has said that the price reduction is not effective.

Onion trader Ahmed Ali who came to the bordering district said that a week ago Indian onions were sold between Rupees 60 and 70 per kg in Indian currency. Mobarak Hossain, an onion importer at the border of Hilli, said India stopped exporting onions indefinitely on September 29, citing the onion crisis and price rise. He also said that there are still many importers in Hilly who are affected by the onion export ban by India.

President of Consumers Association of Bangladesh Golam Rahman said there is no quick fix to this problem within a week. “I don't think there is a quick fix that can cut prices within a week. We should look for a long-term solution,” he said. The prices of onion have not increased for the first time this year. The price hiked many times in the past due to absence of a proper and long-term strategy to maintain long-term stability in the market, dependency on import will have to be reduced by increasing the domestic production of onion. But the country at present has to import a large quantity from India and other countries to meet the demand for domestic consumption, he added.

Arif Uddin Russell of Bashundhara Residential Area at Bashundhara kitchen Market in the morning said that the prices of onions have gone beyond the reach of the middle class.