Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) will sell onion at Tk 30 per kg from Sunday (September 13) to keep the market stable as onion price doubled from 30 taka to 60 taka within the span of a week.
A press release sent by TCB said, “amid the pandemic and flood that swept different parts of the country, TCB is selling three products—sugar, lentils and soya bean oil —at fair prices. From Sunday on TCB will sell onion at 30 taka per kg which will continue until October 1."
A buyer will be allowed to purchase maximum 2kg onion, 2kg sugar, 2kg lentils and 2 to 5 liters of soyabean oil at a time, said the press release.
TCB will charge 50 taka for one kg sugar and lentil while the price of oil will be 80 taka per liter. The open truck sale will be conducted by 275 dealers across the country.
In the face of turbulent onion market, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi on September 8 said that government will import record amount of onion this year as price of onion is spiking day by day in local and Indian market too.
“Initiative has been taken to import record amount of onion this year. We have seen price of onion also to have increased in Indian market. We wrote to NBR to drop 5% VAT from onion import and hope that it will be withdrawn,” said the commerce minister.
The minister made the comments while replying to a query from journalists after meeting with visiting Hungarian Foreign Minister at his secretariat office.
"Onion price has increased in the market a bit as flood disrupted the supply chain. We are trying hard to control onion price. TCB will start selling onion from September 13 at a fair price in the open market. A number of teams from the ministry will go to Benapole and Hilly land ports to see the import situation. We are monitoring the situation and let's see,” the minister added.
“We have already floated tender/s to import onion from Turkey through TCB”, said Munshi.
