Administrative steps likely to tame soaring onion price

The government is likely to ask the deputy commissioners (DCs) for taking necessary steps to keep the onion price stable and ensure its supply considering the interests of consumers, officials said.
Besides, it will ask them to monitor onion price and ensure its supply at all times as its price shows an upward trend in the markets, they added.
"We have been trying our best to get the imported onion released expeditiously from land ports for ensuring its adequate supply in the markets," Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) Ms Kamrunnaher told the FE on Friday.
Replying to a question, she said the MoC may ask the DCs to take required measures to keep onion prices stable if the commerce minister approves the decision in this regard.
The price of local onion has been on the rise for the past couple of weeks and it was being sold between Tk 80 and Tk 85 a kilogramme (kg) on Friday. The imported Indian variety was being traded at Tk 70 a kg at the retail level on the day.
Traders attributed the continuous surge in prices of onion in the domestic market to the hike in import cost of the item.
Indian daily Tribune reported that wholesale onion prices touched a two-year high of 32.75 rupees (Tk 41.5) per kg on October 25 at Lasalgaon, the country's main wholesale market for the bulb.
The report said price of quantity onion increased as the quantity of onion coming to the markets had fallen sharply as the monsoon which extended until the middle of October damaged the crop.
A meeting over onion price was held at the Bangladesh commerce ministry on Wednesday last where importers said onion prices increased due to rising import costs.
An importer who was present at the meeting said onion was selling at 34-35 rupee (Tk 44) a kg in India. But import cost is not less than Tk 52 now, he added.
The price of the spice witnessed a 75 per cent rise in the last two weeks, according to state-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh data.
However, the commerce ministry and Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) data revealed that the country had a stock of nearly 2.78 million tonnes of onion this year (domestic output 1.78 million tonnes plus import of 0.9 million tonnes).
Local demand for onion is at best 2.2 million tonnes, according to the commerce ministry.
Despite frequent attempts over phone, Secretary of MoC Shubhashish Bose could not be contacted for his comments in this regard.

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