Traders have once again increased the price of onion by Tk 4-5 per kg on the pretext of a halt on issuing permits to import from India.
According to traders, their Import Permits (IP) to bring onions from India expired on April 29. After that, many importers applied for permit renewal but their applications had not been approved.
Traders do not see any possibility of a reduction in prices until Indian onions are imported.
The price of onion has been on the rise for the past two weeks as onion imports have declined.
The onion market was likely to destabilise if the government does not approve new IPs, traders said.
Meanwhile, consumers said the traders' excuses needed to be looked at and the administration should take action accordingly. Otherwise, the price of the daily commodity would skyrocket like it did the last year.
It has been seen on Sunday at the Chaktai-Khatunganj wholesale market in Chattogram that Indian onion's price went up by Tk 8 per kg in the last two weeks and are currently being sold at Tk 37-38 per kg. Besides, domestic onions are being sold at Tk 39-41 per kg in the wholesale market and at Tk 46 per kg in the retail market.
SM Nazer Hossain, vice president of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) said there was no reason to increase the price of the product with the excuse of closing the IP issuance as there is still an adequate supply of domestic onions.
Requesting the administration to look into the matter, he said if the market does not improve from now on, the price of onion will go out of reach very soon.
The domestic production of onion is 18 lakh tonnes whereas the total demand for the whole year is 22 lakh tonnes. The remaining 4 lakh tonnes have to be imported from different countries to address the deficit.
