Onion prices have witnessed a fresh hike of Tk 20-30 per kilogram just in the last two days, augmenting sufferings of the already-battered consumers.
The retail price of local 'seed onion' or murikata varieties soared to Tk 120-130 a kg from Tk 90-100 earlier, according to kitchen and grocery markets.
On the other hand, imported onion was also being sold at Tk 120 a kg, marking a hike of Tk 20 during the period in question.
Meanwhile, onion witnessed a total a hike of Tk 40 a kg in the last one and half weeks.
The current price of local onion is 214 per cent higher than last year's, according to the state-backed Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB).
Hedayet Islam, a Mohammadpur grocer, said the price of the key spice rose by Tk 16-18 a kg at Karwanbazar and by Tk 12-14 at Shyambazar on Thursday evening.
Good quality murikata was sold at minimum Tk 105 a kg at Shyambazar on Friday morning, he told the FE.
Jahirul Alam, a wholesaler at Karwanbazar, told the FE that prices have shot up in hub districts like Rajbari, Faridpur and Pabna in the last three days.
Minimum price was Tk 92 a kg on Friday in Pabna and Faridpur mokams (local farm produce markets) which was Tk 76-78 a kg three days back.
He said murikata harvest has almost ended and the seasonal 'haali' onion will hit the market from the later weeks of February.
Traders in Faridpur and Pabna districts are making a windfall during this interim supply shortage, he added.
As Indian exports have come to a halt, according to importers, onion has been imported from China, Turkey and Pakistan in the past two months.
However, the quantity was minimal compared to demand, thus having a negligible impact on the market, said Md Abdul Mazed, secretary of Shyambazar Onion Wholesale Merchants' Association.
"Due to a notable appreciation in US dollar against our local currency," he said, "imported onion costs Tk 95-100 a kg, transport and operating costs inclusive.
Traders are hardly interested in bringing such high-priced onions as there was plenty of murikata variety in the market, according to him.
Mr Mazed said it might take one more month for locally grown 'haali' onion to become available in the market.
He, therefore, suggested that the government take an initiative to import onion from India under the quota facility as prices are much lower there.
Meanwhile, potato prices fell to some extent, but rice, flour, beef, fish, broiler chicken, eggs, sugar and pulses remained the same maintaining previous highs.
On Friday, potato cost Tk 40-50 a kg, coarse and medium rice Tk 55-68, flour Tk 56-78, broiler Tk 205-215, eggs Tk 140-145 a dozen, beef Tk 700-780 a kg, sugar Tk 145-165 and lentils Tk 120-165.
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