Commerce ministry ‘wary’ about onion price hike

The commerce ministry is keeping close tabs on onion prices at the markets of Dhaka city.

With the sudden spike in the price of the cooking essential, the ministry has decided to sell it in the open market through the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) from next week.

It is also looking into the price. And the TCB will continue to sell onions until new onions hit the market.

Onion prices have been rising sharply in the capital's markets for the past three days. 

The price of local onion rose to Tk62-65 from Tk55 per kg on Thursday, and the high-quality ones were sold at Tk70 per kg.

Also, the price of Indian onion has risen to Tk55-60 from Tk40 per kg in a few days. 

A month ago, the price of local onion was Tk40 per kg, while the Indian one was sold for Tk25-30.

The country has enough onions in stock and the flow of import is also stable, according to the commerce ministry. 

So Commerce Secretary Mohammad Jafar Uddin on Sunday held a meeting with the stakeholders to find the reason behind the sudden price spike.

Jafar told The Business Standard although the onion price rose sharply on Thursday, it fell slightly on Sunday in the wholesale markets. "We are collecting information on the price surge."

"We are closely monitoring the price this time. There are sufficient stocks of onion; import is also good. So in no way, the situation will be the same again."

"The TCB, which has sufficient stocks of onion, will sell it in the open market from next week. I hope the extra price will drop in a day or two," Jafar said.

The demand for onion in the country is 24-25 lakh tonnes now. And Bangladesh produced 25 lakh tonnes of onion last season, according to the Department of Agricultural Extension.

According to different government agencies, about 30% of onions get wasted after production. So, about 10 lakh tonnes of onions have to be imported every year and 95% of it comes from India.