Onion price hits Tk 100 per kg

In the face of continuously increasing price of onion in the market, the government has decided to allow the import of the essential commodity from today (Monday).

The Ministry of Agriculture took the decision Sunday to protect the interest of the consumers and alleviate the sufferings of low income people due to the abnormal increase in onion prices, said a press release.

The prices of onions are increasing by leaps and bounds during the recent days despite having sufficient stock to meet the demand.

The onion prices increased by Tk 15-20 in just three days, hitting a two-year high of Tk 95-100 per kg on Sunday.

Insiders said the country has a sufficient stock of the essential commodity at present, but the market is volatile as a group of unscrupulous businessmen who want the onion market to be dependent on imports. And the government has failed to control this onion syndicate.

The procrastination of the agriculture ministry in permitting onion import is the reason behind the abnormal price hike of onion, according to some market insiders.

Agriculture Minister Md Abdur Razzak on Sunday said, “Deciding to allow onion import is tough for us. Because if import of onion is allowed, the price falls drastically which ultimately affects the farmers. They lose interest in onion cultivation. On the other hand, if we do not allow import, the price goes up, and the consumers suffer. However, after considering the interests of all, including farmers and consumers, we have finally decided to allow import of onions.”

With the latest hike, onion prices have witnessed a surge of over 110 per cent in the last five weeks, according to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) and city groceries.

Md Yusuf, a retailer from Manik Nagar area in the capital, said onion prices shot up to Tk 95-98 per kg at the wholesale market. Wholesalers at Shyambazar are selling onions for Tk 88-94 per kg.

Narayan Chandra Saha, a spice trader at Shyambazar, told that the price is increasing as top onion traders in Rajbari, Faridpur, Gopalganj and Pabna have stockpiled it to maximise profits. Many traders in Dhaka have also stored huge volume of onions, but supplying to market at a slow pace.

The price of onion doubled in retail market within 20 days after the Eid-ul-Fitr, increasing from Tk 38-40 per kg to Tk 75-80. The increased price remained until Friday last.

The government imposed a ban on onion import to help the country’s farmers get fair prices during the onion season.

On May 21 last, Agriculture Minister Md Abdur Razzak, at a views-exchange with journalists at the Secretariat, said, “The price of onion at Tk 80 per kg is not acceptable. A decision to allow onion import will be made after observing the market situation 2-3 days more.”

But the government finally made the decision after long two weeks.

Agricultural economist Jahangir Alam Khan told The Business Post, “The importers and big traders increased the price of onion manipulating the market; so that the government is forced to allow its import. Some traders and neighbouring countries will benefit from this. Otherwise there is no reason behind the price hike at a time when the onion season has just ended.

“The retail price up to Tk 40 per kg is normal. Even if it is sold at this price, the farmer would make a profit. If the price is more than this, it would be abnormal,” he said.

The country now produces more than 3.5 million tonnes of onion annually. Excluding the wastages, we have more than 2.5 million tonnes of onion. We have to import only 5-6 lakh tonnes to meet the annual demand. The import would be needed when our stock runs out at the end of the year, he added.

SM Nazer Hossain, vice president of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh, said only imports could bring equilibrium to the market.

According to the commerce ministry and the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the demand for onions in Bangladesh is between 2.6 to 3.0 million tonnes annually, while local production stands at 2.7 million tonnes.

The country typically imports 4 to 10 lakh tonnes annually, depending on local production and availability.