Prices drop as seasonal onion arrives on market

Onion prices have dropped in different kitchen markets throughout Dhaka after the arrival of a seasonal variety of this kitchen essential, providing much-needed relief to middle and low-income consumers.

On Friday, traders from kitchen markets in the capital sold a kilogramme of local onions for Tk 60 – Tk 65, a drop from Tk 75 – Tk 80 last week. Besides, they sold Indian onions for Tk 40 – Tk 45 per kg, which was Tk 50 last week.

Traders sold seasonal onion, which arrived recently in the market, for Tk 45 – Tk 50 per kg on Friday, while the Burma variety was sold for Tk 45 – Tk 50 per kg.

Speaking to The Business Post, onion trader at Mirpur 1 Md Jasim said, “Seasonal onion has arrived in the market, and this is why the prices have fallen. Currently, a large volume of seasonal onions are coming into the capital from Faridpur.”

Echoing the same, a number of other onion traders said there are no shortages of onion supply in the market right now. They also expressed optimism that onion prices will go down further as the supply increases day by day.

Manik Abedin, a customer at Karwan Bazar, said, “The prices of essentials including rice, chicken, and vegetables keep rising every day, which is putting pressure on the middle and low-income consumers. The sudden price fall of onions has given us relief.”

Earlier in October, a supply shortage pushed up onion prices at both retail and wholesale markets in the capital. Traders that time claimed that the prices increased suddenly due to insufficient supply from India.

In the first week that month, a kilogram of onion was sold at Tk 60-65 at different kitchen markets in the capital, which was up from Tk 40 – Tk 45.

According to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), Bangladesh produced 33.62 lakh tonnes of onion in FY20-21 against a domestic demand of around 24 lakh tonnes.

Chicken prices rise

On the other hand, the prices of chicken have increased in the local markets.

Traders are selling farm chicken for Tk 168 – Tk 172 compared to Tk 165 – Tk 170 per kg last week. They are also selling sonalika chicken for Tk 270 – Tk 280 per kg, which was Tk 260 – Tk 265 last week.

During mid-September of this year, sonalika chicken was being sold for Tk 290 – Tk 295 per kg, but the price later climbed to Tk 310 – Tk 320 in mid-October.

On December 5, the state-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) began selling essential commodities to low-income people at subsidised prices on its trucks across the country.