Tofail rules out syndicate role in onion price spiral

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed on Tuesday said there was no syndicate behind the onion price hike in the country.

"There were no activities of syndicate behind onion production, import and marketing of onion in the country," the minister said.

He made the remarks while responding to a query placed by independent member M Rustam Ali Farazi of Pirojpur-3 in the house, reports BSS.

The annual demand for onion in the country is nearly 2,2-2.5 million (22-25 lakh) tonnes, while country's production is about 1.75 million tonnes, he said.

He added that the production shortage is some 700,000 tonnes in relation to demand.

The country meets demand by importing onion from the international market, particularly from India, Tofail said.

Even India has fixed minimum export price of a tonne onion at US$ 850 as India incurred loss in onion production due to severe flood during May-June period.

Side by side, the price of local onion also rose abnormally on the local market as the prolonged flood hampered domestic stock and production, the minister said clarifying his statement.