The Commerce Ministry and Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) have taken a joint initiative to sell onions through online shops targeting middle-class consumers.
Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi made the disclosure on Wednesday afternoon while addressing a press conference at the ministry.
"The renowned online grocery shops of the country will be allowed to sell imported onions at government fixed price," he said.
According to sources, at least 10 per cent of the whole imported onions would be sold through e-commerce shops at the initial stage.
The online shops with their own warehouses, extensive delivery capabilities and user-friendly websites have been selected for the task.
Minister Tipu Munshi also said, "A regulation has already been formulated in this regard jointly by the Commerce Ministry, TCB and eCAB. It proposed the formation of a committee to coordinate and monitor the overall sale situation in online marketplaces."
Reassuring that there are huge stocks of onions in the country, the minister urged people not to panic unnecessarily.
"There is no reason to get panicked as a total of 6 lakh tonnes of onions are still in stock," he added.
Despite having sufficient onions in warehouses, the government would import the cooking ingredient from Myanmar and Turkey, he said, adding that the imported onions will be sold through e-commerce shops, in addition to TCB open markets.
The ministry had earlier sat in a view-exchange meeting with the renowned e-commerce shops, to materialize the initiative on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Abdul Wahed Tamal, general secretary of eCAB, appreciated the government move and vowed to help materialize the initiative.
