Onion prices drop Tk50 a kg at Khatunganj

Onion prices at Khatunganj wholesale market, the biggest commodity hub in Chattogram, have started coming down. Within a day, prices have dropped by Tk50 per kg and by Tk80 per kg in the last three days.

Dealers said a sudden decline in demand amid a heated-up market and onion import from Egypt have triggered the price fall.

Wholesaler Md Jashim Uddin, the owner of Alam Traders, said Better quality Myanmarese  onions were sold on Monday for Tk120 to Tk130 a kg, while the Chinese ones for Tk110 to Tk120 per kg.

Import of the commodity from China and Egypt has led to the price drop, he added.

In the market, the price of Myanmarese onions dropped by Tk60 to Tk80 per kg, said Shahadat Hossein, the owner of Shahadat and Brothers, adding that this variety of the product was selling at Tk180 to Tk200 per kg only four days ago.

Md Idris, the general secretary of the Hamid Ullah Market Traders' Welfare Association, said total 350 tonnes of onions came on Monday to Khatunganj from China, Myanmar and Egypt.

"Not many buyers are coming to the wholesale market even though the supply has gone up, causing a sharp price fall," he said, adding the prime minister's declaration of onion import through air cargo might have also contributed to the decline.

The market will restore stability soon provided the falling trend persists, Idris further said.

Meanwhile, 198 tonnes of onions have reached the Chattogram port, while the port authorities have released 114 tonnes imported from China and Egypt. Already, 84 tonnes of Myanmarese onions have reached different trading shops in Khatunganj.

Up to Thursday last, total 5,947 tonnes of onions came to the country through the Chattogram port, while the port authorities released 80 tonnes on Friday.

Asaduzzaman Bulbul, the deputy director of the Port Plant Quarantine Authority, confirmed The Business Standard that the port authorities released 58 tonnes of Egyptian onions and 56 tonnes of Chinese ones on Saturday.

From September 29 this year to November 16, total 6,141 tonnes of onions were released from the port. During the same period, traders took the port's permit to import 71,802 tonnes, said Bulbul.

He also said traders in the last few days also sought permits to import 5,640 tonne more onions.