Although the Ministry of Commerce has taken various initiatives, the local onion market is not stable as yet, rather the price is persistently increasing. Ministry of Commerce said in a statement that large shipments of onions are coming in two days, and that prices will come down.
The ministry statement said that it has taken several steps to keep the supply and prices of onions normal. Traders have been encouraged to increase imports from alternative countries, especially following the raising of the minimum export price of Indian onions, and announcing export closure from September 29.
For this, bank loan interest rate and LC margin have been reduced. Onion imports have been arranged through border trade with Myanmar.
The monitoring team has taken the responsibility to monitor the price. Besides, onions are being sold at fair price through Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB). TCB is selling packaged onion at Tk 45 through 35 trucks in the capital.
Finally, the Commerce Ministry has requested import of onion by big companies of consumer commodities goods, including City, Meghna and S Alam Group. The statement also added that several companies are importing more onions from Egypt and Turkey. Within two days, a large shipment of these onions will arrive in the country. As a result, onion prices will fall sharply. Moreover, new onions are expected to arrive in the third week of November. As a result, there is no reason for consumers to panic, the market will return to normal.
For the last one and a half months, the Ministry of Commerce has taken various initiatives to keep onion prices stable. People have also been assured. Onion was also sold at Tk 120 per kg in various markets including in the capital yesterday. In two days, the price has increased by Tk 20 per kg.
Sources in the Ministry of Commerce said, new onions will be coming to the country by December. Demand for onion is 6,000 tonnes per day across the country. Commerce Minister, Tipu Munshi, told reporters on Sunday, The problem with onions may last another month. Expect to see a drop in prices when the onion consignments arrive in the market.”