Onion unchanged, veg prices drop

Prices of onion remained static at its previous high on Sunday, while various seasonal vegetables showed a further fall.
The retail price of local onion remained unchanged at Tk 145-155 a kg on the day, while imported Indian onion sold at Tk 120-135 a kg.
Md Shahidullah, a Nurjahan Road grocer at Mohammadpur, said the local onion variety remained the same, while the imported one showed a slight decline at wholesale outlets.
However, onion prices have witnessed a hike by Tk 20-30 a kg in the last four days across the country.
Traders attributed this price escalation to higher import costs and a depleting stock of the local variety.
Against this backdrop, market experts sense manipulation by big traders in Faridpur, Gopalganj, Pabna, Rajbari and Shyambazar in Dhaka.
However, import has also declined for the last one week, according to an official at the Plan Quarantine Wing.
He said a total of 0.208 million tonnes of onion have been imported between July and October.
The official further said that 2,000 tonnes have been imported on a daily basis this fiscal, but the volume dropped by half last week.
Hedayet Hossain, a trader at Rayerbazar-Beribandh wholesale hub, said imports declined amid a rise in onion prices in neighbouring nation India.
Retail prices of onion in Indian states have soared to 60-80 rupees (Tk 90-112) a kg.
But Faridpur, Gopalganj, Pabna and Rajbari traders, who stored a big chunk of local onion, have raised prices overnight hearing a squeeze in imports, maintained Mr Hedayet.
However, the going rate of onion is 20-25 per cent higher than that of a year ago, according to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh has a demand for 3.2-3.5 million tonnes of onion annually. The country produces 2.7-3.0 million tonnes.
Meanwhile, vegetable prices declined further as pointed gourd retailed at Tk 70-80 a kg, brinjal at Tk 90-120 and tomato at Tk 180-200. On the other hand, bottle gourd price has declined by half as is retailed at Tk 50-60 apiece.
Early harvested cauliflower and cabbage are traded at Tk 40-60 a kg.
The price of country bean also declined by 50 per cent as retailed at Tk 100-120 a kg. On the other hand, ridge, teasel, sponge and snake gourds showed further drop and are sold at Tk 70-90.
However, rice and fish prices have remained static at their previous highs.

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