Onions are being imported from Myanmar and Egypt via water and air routes. Two months have passed since the onion crisis began. Already, there is information of the new onion crop coming to the markets. But the price has not declined. The crowds gathering round the trucks selling onions by Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) are increasing.
Importer S Alam and Meghna Groups have imported onions and quickly handed the cargo over to the government organisation, TCB.
TCB is selling the onions at Tk 45 per kg at all districts and upazilas. At the moment, the price of imported onions is Tk 160 while local onions are selling for Tk 230 to Tk 250 per kg.
The promises made by the Commerce Minister remain unfulfilled as traders cannot say when the prices will go down.
Humayun Kabir, personal secretary of TCB chairman, said that onions were being sold at fifty points of the city which is helping people from low income backgrounds.
Each truck is being given 1 ton of onions every day, apart from Friday, and TCB’s operation will go on until the prices return to normal.
Even now old local onions are selling for Tk 230 to Tk 250 per kg, imported onions at Tk 160 to Tk 180 and those from Myanmar at Tk 220. Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, says: “New onions are coming and soon and the price will fall to reasonable levels.”
Meanwhile, most buyers are convinced that the price rise has been caused by syndicates and policy makers must look into it.