An inadequate supply of onion from local and international sources has pushed up prices of the popular kitchen item in Dhaka’s markets, traders say, putting additional pressure on consumers amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Wholesalers claimed that the item’s import from India “has remained suspended for several months”.
Unscrupulous traders are taking advantage of the situation and raised the prices of the local variety of onion, affecting the market.
Abul Momen, an onion trader at Karwan Bazar, said that the bulb’s price has risen by up to Tk 20 per kg at the wholesale level to Tk 50-52 in the span of a week.
Mofiz Uddin, a wholesale trader at Karwan Bazar, said that he was selling onion at Tk 250-260 per palla (5kg). Last week, the same amount cost Tk 160-180.
According to Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission, onion production was more than 2.5 million tonnes in 2019-20 fiscal year when the annual demand was 2.6 million tonnes.
A regular market price update by the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh on Monday showed that prices of local variety of onion increased by 35.53 per cent at the retail level in one month. The imported variety saw a price hike of 41.89 per cent at the retail level during this period, the TCB data showed.
In the kitchen market, onion is currently selling at Tk 55-60 per kg.
“The rising price of the essential kitchen item is putting an extra pressure on us, the general consumers,” said Zahidul Hasan, a resident of West Rajabazar.
