Onion prices show further decline

Retail prices of onion further declined in the city groceries, thanks to rising imports, said insiders.
Both imported and local onions sold between Tk 70 and Tk 80 per kg on Thursday in different city areas, marking a Tk 5.0-a-kg further fall in two days.
The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) under the agriculture ministry gave Import Permits (IPs) for bringing in 0.5 million tonnes of onion by the private sector of which 15,000 tonnes so far have entered through Hili, Bhomra and other ports since June 5, said officials.
The supply of imported onion was lesser in the market and sold at Tk 70 a kg while local onion was retailed at Tk 75-80 a kg.
Wholesale prices of onion were Tk 48-60 a kg at the wholesale hubs in the city on the day.
Narayan Chandra Saha, a Shyambazar-based trader in the city, said the supply of imported onions will increase notably within a few days, lowering the price further.
Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) Vice President S M Nazer Hossain said the government should monitor the import and import costs of onion if it wants to benefit consumers.
Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC) should make public the import costs on a regular basis so that traders cannot make unethical profits, he said.
The agriculture ministry on June 4 evening allowed import of onion as price of the spice hit a two-year high of Tk 95-110 a kg on the day. Onion prices showed 100-110 per cent hike in five weeks between May 1 and June 4.
On March 15 last, the ministry imposed import restrictions with the beginning of onion harvest to protect the interests of local farmers.
The country has an annual demand for 2.6-3.0 million tonnes of onion while it imports 0.4-1.1 million tonnes depending on its local production and availability, according to the commerce ministry.
Bangladesh's onion production declined to 2.39 million tonnes in FY '23 from 2.7 million tonnes in FY '22, according to primary estimates of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).
Meanwhile, in Chattogram, the price of onion has also decreased at the wholesale and retail levels.
The price of onion at wholesale markets in the city's Khatunganj, Asadganj and Chaktai is Tk 40-50 per kg on Thursday, while in retail, the spice was sold at Tk 60-70 a kg the same day.
Mohammed Idris, general secretary of Chattogram Onion Importers Association, said the onion is being sold at Tk 40-50 a kg at the wholesale level.
Delwar Hossain, owner of H A Traders and an importer of onion, said, the price of onion has decreased at the wholesale level as the imported onion has already started to arrive in the port city wholesale markets.
Haradhon Ghosh, a retail trader at Reazuddin Bazar, said, "We are selling Indian onions. So, the price of our onion is higher than that of Myanmar's onion."
Afsar Uddin, a retail trader in Chattogram's Kajirdewri area, said they are selling onions at Tk 60 a kg.

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