Businesses avail all-clear to buy onions from elsewhere

New importers got the all-clear to import onions from nine alternative sources as prices of the spice item stay at previous highs of Tk 80-100 a kilogram after a quantum leap.
Onion prices have shown a brusque increase by Tk 15-20 a kg since August 19 when neighbouring India imposed a restrictive 40-percentre export duty on the item to cool its price on their own market.
Following the surge in duty, local importers reduced LC opening to bring onions from India.
The government, however, gave permits to local importers to source onions from other countries.
Agriculture ministry has said importers have taken IPs to bring onions from China, Egypt, Pakistan, Qatar, Turkey, Myanmar, Thailand, the Netherlands and the UAE.

Under the approval, a total of 21,580 tonnes of the bulb would be brought in from these countries.
Most of the new IPs have been given for bringing onions from Pakistan.
However, data with the Plant Quarantine Wing of the agriculture ministry showed importers got IPs to buy in 1.374 million tonnes of onions but they had made 0.37 million tonnes from India since June 5 last.
The government on June 4 started giving IPs to importers to bring the cooking ingredient when the price hit a two-year high at Tk 110 a kg on the volatile domestic market to augment woes of consumers who already pay through their nose for general price rises.
With the beginning of import, people started getting onions at Tk 40-55 a kg while local variety also cooled down to Tk 70-80 a kg.
On August 19, the Indian government announced the imposition of 40-percent duty on onion export which fueled up the price by Tk 15-20 a kg in Bangladesh, according to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh.
Exporter Mosaddek Ali, the owner of Shah Enterprise, says cost of Indian onion rose by Tk 14 a kg immediately on the Indian side while the customs charge would be now minimum Tk 8 a kg which was Tk 5.0 a kg earlier.
"I've brought nearly 1500 tonnes since June 5 from India and average prices hovered between Tk 38 and 46 a kg," he says.
He reckons that import cost from India will be now above Tk 63 a kg while it would be Tk 45-Tk 48 if is brought from Turkey, Egypt and China.
"Price in Myanmar is now much higher, which would not be viable," the importer opines.
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