Specialists feel that when the price of onion went out of control, the government should have fixed a price. The price of onions began to go up when India imposed an embargo on onion exports to Bangladesh.
The Tk 35 per kg cost of onions has gone up to Tk 270 now.
Efforts to import onions from Egypt, Turkey and other attempts made by the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) had little success.
Commerce ministry officials say that fixing a selling price for an item in a free market economy is contradictory to World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. If price is fixed in this way, the consumer may be adversely impacted.
But if government wants then it can determine a logical profit by cutting off production and transport cost.
Officials say: “There is limitation in implementing a fixed rate because the government does not have enough manpower.”
Deputy secretary of Commerce ministry, Zeenat Rehana, said: “The government does not have enough manpower to enforce a fixed rate; and doing so would have multiplied grievances among traders.”
The ministry had declared a selling price of Tk 60 per kg with Tk 5 added to import cost of Tk 55 but that could not be implemented.
Additional secretary of Commerce ministry currently on Post Retirement Leave, Shafiqul Islam, observed: “In an open market, rate fixing is problematic since it’s contradictory to WTO rules but to ensure food security any country can ban export and imports, just like what India did.”
Chairman of the Privatisation Commission, Mofizul Islam, added: “The rate of degradable items cannot be fixed.”
Commerce secretary, Dr Jafar Uddin could not be contacted.