Onion price up Tk 10-15 per kg in three days

The onion market has become volatile again as prices increased by Tk 10-15 a kg just in the last three days across the country. Locally produced onion was sold at Tk 55-65 a kg till Tuesday noon in the retail markets in Dhaka which was Tk 45-55 a kg earlier.

The spice's price increased to Tk 48-52 a kg on the day at Shyambazar, the biggest wholesale market in the city-- Tk 12-14 a kg hike just in a day, said traders. 

The produce was traded at Tk 50-54 a kg in other wholesales in the city.

Traders said prices of onion increased by Tk 10-15 a kg both in Dhaka and district level wholesales in a week thus making the key spice pricier raising woes of the commoners further.

Stock by traders, big farmers, and stoppage of import from neighbouring India are the key cause for the hike, said traders.

Market experts termed the recent hike illogical saying that harvest just ended as well as production was better than that of last year. Local indigenous onion was selling at Tk 60-65 a kg while hybrid variety at Tk 55-60 a kg in city groceries.

The supply of imported onion was very low while selling at Tk 50-55 a kg. 

Shyambazar based trader Narayan Chandra Saha, told that big farmers and seasonal traders are stocking the spice in large volume. As the local onion are dominating the market in absence of necessary imported spice, district-level traders and big farmers are trying to make benefits, he claimed.

He said the government is not issuing import permission (IP) from India where the onion price is now considerably much lower. 

Asst director at the Department of Agricultural Marketing (DAM) TM Rashed Khan said the recent hike in onion price in such a high margin is unusual as the harvest just ended in May.

He said wholesales in greater Faridpur, Pabna as well as in Dhaka should be brought under strict monitoring to keep the market normal. 

He said local production is going to make a new record this year amid rising onion land and remaining suitable weather. So, there is no chance of any kind of shortage of the product until September this year, he said.

 Value chain expert Prof GoalmHafeez Kennedy said as the primary trading by farmers has almost ended and the peasantry got some profits for their crops, it is now time to ease import to some extent.

Apart from raising market monitoring, the import should also be easier, he said.

However, there is now 10 per cent import duty on onion, imposed by the government to help local farmers get a fair price for their crops. Bangladesh is expecting 2.9 million tonnes of onion output this year which is more than its demand of 2.6 million tonnes, according to the agriculture ministry.

Onion production was at an all-time high of 2.0 million tonnes last year. The rest of the demand was met through imports from Egypt, Turkey, Myanmar, China, and India.

Bangladesh squeezed import from India in recent years for the country's sudden ban on export without prior notice which made the onion market volatile in Bangladesh in 2019.