Home ›› 12 Oct 2021 ›› Front
Apparantly failing to contain the spiralling prices of onion despite adequate local production, the commerce minister and secretary made conflicting statements on the volatile market and prices on Monday.
Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, after meeting stakeholders, told reporters that there is adequate stock in the country and there is no reason to panic.
However, Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh said volatility in the onion market and its prices would continue for one more month.
“There is an adequate stock of onion in the country and there is no reason to panic. Onion supply is normal as we have some 5 lakh metric tonnes in stock. Besides, onions are being imported from India and Myanmar,” Tipu said.
In the same meeting, Tapan said heavy rainfall in India was partially responsible for the volatility, while a section of local traders hiked the prices.
“Price volatility will last one more month,” he said.
Meanwhile, it was learned that despite having enough supply of onion, domestic stockers hiked prices under the pretext of soaring prices in Indian markets.
According to Commerce Ministry data, the country has a stock of 4.22 lakh tonnes of onions against demands of 2 lakh tonnes for October.
On the other hand, every day around 180 trucks laden with onion are entering Bangladesh from India. During July-September, 2 lakh tonnes were imported.
Meanwhile, summer onion harvesting is scheduled to start in November, while murikata variety will likely hit the market in December.
According to the Commerce Ministry, the monthly demand for onion is 2 lakh tonnes. The yearly demand is around 25 lakh tonnes.
Yesterday, the retail price of local onion variety was Tk 70-80 per kg while the Indian onion cost Tk 65-70. Last month, the local variety cost Tk 45-48 and imported onions Tk 40-45.
Prices double
Last week, each maund of local onion was sold at Tk 1,100-1,200 in the warehouses of Pabna and Faridpur. This week, the prices doubled to Tk 2,200-2,400.
The average price of per kg onion jumped to Tk 60 from Tk 30.
Karwan Bazar onion trader Md Harun-or-Rashid attributed the price increase to a hike in the Indian market.
In India’s Bangalore and Nasik wholesale markets, onion prices rose to Rs 26 per kg on Oct 5 from Rs 19.5 on October 4. Yesterday, onion was selling for Rs 50 at the retail market, Bangladeshi commercial counsellor in India AKM Atiqul Hoque informed the Commerce Ministry.
The ministry has already sent letters to 11 district commissioners and intensified monitoring. “We hope the prices won’t rise further,” Additional Commerce Secretary AHM Safiquzzaman told The Business Post.
Meanwhile, at a meeting with Commerce Ministry yesterday, Shyambazar Onion Wholesalers Association General Secretary Mohammad Abdul Mazed blamed the fall in the supply of onions from India for an increase in local onion price.
According to the commerce and agricultural ministries, per kg onion production cost Tk 18 last season while farmers sold them for Tk 20-25. In the last season, local onion production was 29.55 lakh tonnes. There is a 25 per cent wastage during the storage process.
