Onion price continues to skyrocket in Dhaka’s kitchen markets, rendering futile the government measures to rein in price spiral of the essential commodity.
Per kilogram of locally-produced onion was retailing between Tk 85 and Tk 90, up by Tk15, while the imported ones between Tk 70 and Tk 75, up by Tk 10 on Saturday (Sept 21).
At the wholesale markets, locally produced onion sold for Tk 74 and imported one for Tk 65 per kilogram.
Retailers and wholesalers have blamed the rise of import prices and supply crucnh.
On Sept 13, the Indian government hiked the minimum export price at $850 per tonne from the previous $250-$300 in order to check the price in domestic market.
In its wake, at a meeting last week, Commerce Secretary Md Jafar Uddin announced that the government decided to import onion from Turkey, Myanmar and China to improve supply situation and bring down prices but the prices have continued to rise.
Wholesale trader Md Shohidul said: “We import onion only from India. So, since onion prices went up in India, so did it in Bangladesh. It’s not in our hand to control it.”
“On the other hand, the production of local onions is not enough. Since the importers buy at a higher price, we cannot sell below this price,” he added.
Mohammod Rabbi, a local seller at Shukrabad Bazaar, said: “We have to buy onion from the wholesale market at high prices. So we can’t sell here at low prices.”
"If the price comes down at wholesale markets, it will also come down here; otherwise we can’t," he added.
Roman Ahmed, who came to Shukrabad from Panthapath to buy onion, said the onion that the traders were selling were not those they imported after India set the new MEP set at $850 per ton.
"They are selling the onion they had bought before the new price. It needs time to import onion from India, but the traders have already increased onion prices in Bangladesh as soon as India enforced it. It’s totally a syndicate which the government needs to monitor. Besides, there should be alternative sources from where to import onions," he added.
Government to increase OMS sales points
The government started selling onion through Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) last week, but it has had no impact on the market. Now, the TCB wants to increase sales point and provide more supply.
“Since there is supply shortage and prices increased at import destination, traders have to buy onion at Tk 72 per kilo and there are other expenses. So the prices of onion will remain high until new supplies are available in the market,” said TCB spokesperson Humayun Kabir.
"TCB is trying to increase the supply of onion at OMS outlets at the previous price from next week. By the time, the prices may come down in local markets," he added.
Currently, TCB is selling 5,000 kg onions at Tk 45 per kg through OMS at 10 spots in different parts of the capital.