Onion market has strated to become volatile after about one year as prices of the key spice soared further within a couple of days which traders attributed to a surge in import cost and a low domestic production.
Local varities of onion was sold at Tk 60-68 per kilogram (kg) on Sunday which was Tk 40-50 a kg earlier. The imported ones were retailed at Tk 45-55 a kg from Tk 30-40 a week back.
The state-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) recorded 40-54 per cent hike in onion prices in a week and 70-90 per cent in a month.
Traders at different city markets said a surge in import cost as well as low domestic production have led to the sudden price hike.
One the other hand, market observers said a syndication of big importers and traders has made the onion price exorbitant.
The experts have also expressed the fear of volatility in onion costs like that in September-November of 2019 when prices of the spice rocketed to an all-time high of Tk 280-300 a kg amid an export ban by India, one of the major onion exporting countries.
Md Limon, a spice and potato vendor in the city's Rayer Bazar, said onion prices are increasing everyday by Tk 2.0-3.0 a kg during the last one and a half weeks in Shyambazar and Karwan Bazar wholesales.
He said a section of consumers have increased purchase of the goods and also they are storing the spice at home fearing a further surge in its cost which have fueled both the rise in its demand and prices in local markets.
Narayan Chandra Saha, a Shyambazar-based importer said onion prices increased by Tk 12-14 per kg in the last two weeks.
He said one kg onion now costs Tk 30-34 to bring from India.
Delhi imposed a ban on export of the widely-used spice on September 29, 2019, amid a crop loss in floods in India, triggering a sudden price hike in Bangladesh which imports a large quantity of the produce from the neighbouring country.
Mr Saha said local production was low this year as many farmers collected from the field onions before the crops attained maturity with the hope of getting good prices.
Meanwhile, a Times of India report published on Sept 5, this year, said prices of onion at Lasalgaon in Maharashtra, the biggest onion market in the world, increased by 25 per cent in a week.
The report mentioned that average price of one kg onion was Rs 20 (nearly Tk 24) on Sept 4.
The report also said that 30 per cent of stock of farmers has been destroyed by rain and flood this year that caused a shortage.
The report continued that the rising price trend might continue to mid-October before beginning of harvesting season of Khariph-2 crop there.
Secretary of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB), Humayun Kabir Bhuiyan, said the present upward trend in onion prices is reminding us of the volatality of September 2019.
He said, this time there is no logic of such abnormal price hike in Bangladesh markets as India has not imposed any ban on export yet and the import cost is still below Tk 30 a kg.
A syndicate has also raised the price of local onion at the same time without any reason, he viewed.
He added that a strict market monitoring should be started to prevent any further unexpected hike in onion prices by a nexus of big importers and traders.
Meanwhile, the commerce minister on Sunday said an open market sale (OMS) of onion might be started to give commoners a relief.
However, onion started to become pricier after a meeting was held between the traders and the commerce ministry two weeks back (on Aug 20) in this regard.
At the meeting, the commerce ministry asked the traders to increase onion import from late September to avoid a repeat of last year's price surge.
The commerce ministry said it is keeping a close watch on key import channels of the goods to solve any possible problems.
To this end, the ministry sat in the special meeting with representatives of importers and traders of kitchen markets at the Secretariat.
"The meeting discussed local demand, domestic production and onion import to devise strategies to keep supply and price of the produce stable in the local markets," an official told the FE.
The ministry would further discuss the onion issue in the next meeting of its 'task-force committee' headed by the commerce secretary.
"We've given priority to two neighbouring countries, India and Myanmar, for importing onion in future, if required," the official mentioned.
Besides, the ministry might ask the TCB to take a time-befitting plan in this regard, he added.
Bangladesh produced nearly 1.9 million tonnes of onion in the last financial year from 0.21 million hectares of land, according to the Department of Agricultural Extension.
The country has a demand of 2.5-2.6 million tonnes annually.
The shortfall is met through import, mainly from India and Myanmar.
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