Onion Price hike rise upto 557 percent

According to the state-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), the price of onion, a staple commodity in Bangladeshi kitchen, has seen a rise of 557.80 percent year-on-year.

According to the TCB data, the local onion price increased by 542.86 percent compared to the corresponding period of the last year in November, compared with that of the imported one by 572.73.

The price hike, which resulted from the ban India slapped on the bulb's export on September 29, is much higher than the TCB estimate, according to the market analysis.

Despite various steps taken by the government, the price continued to rise, including conducting mobile court drives against traders selling onion at a higher price, as well as TCB selling at a lower price.

On November 16, it reached as high as Tk 260 per kg on the retail markets.

The price began to fall from November 17 after the Prime Minister said on November 16 that the government was taking steps to import onion by cargo aircraft to bring down the price along with the onion being grown locally to the market.

 However, from November 22 it started to soar again and on Wednesday shot up to Tk 270.

The price of locally grown onion has soared by 104.55 percent in the last month, while the price of imported onion has plunged by 72.09 percent, according to the TCB figures.

The local onion variety priced at Tk 220-230 per kg while Tk 160-210 was imported on Tuesday. During the same period last year, the price was Tk 30-40 and Tk 25-30 respectively.

Local onion was selling at Tk 210-220, according to the TCB, while imported on Thursday at Tk 140-200.

Meanwhile, Palash Mahmud, executive director of Conscious Citizens ' Society (CCS), a consumer rights group, reported that the onion industry has been exploited by a trade union about Tk 3,180 crore over the past four months.

He also said that from July to October, the onion price saw at least a 400 percent hike.

"During this season, farmers used to sell onion at Tk 8-13 per kg, but the price has now risen to over Tk 250," Palash said.

On November 14, the bulb sold for Tk 150-170 per kg, Tk 200-220 on November 15, Tk 220-230 on November 16, Tk 200-215 on November 18, Tk 170-190 on November 22, Tk 180-200 on November 23, Tk 190-200 on November 24 and Tk 200-210 on November 25.

However, it was found that onion was selling at a much higher price when visiting various kitchen markets in the capital on Thursday.

Local onion sold on Tk 240-260 and imported on Tk 150-200 on the city's kitchen market.

Manik Saha, a Shyambazar wholesaler, said on Thursday they sold local onion at Tk 170-180 a kg, while on Thursday they sold the Burmese at Tk 170, the Egyptian at 140, and the Chinese at Tk 120.

Zillur Rahman, the city's Konapara shopkeeper, said Tuesday he bought Tk 242 onion per kg from the wholesale market. "When I bought high-priced onion, I will also market it at a high price. Now, at Tk 260, I'm selling onion per kg, "he said.

Subra Sinha, a Shanir Akhra resident, said he bought 1 kg of good quality local onion from a shop for Tk 270.

 Shamsur Rahman, an onion stockist at Shyambazar, told UNB they were selling old local variety stock for Tk 200 per kg and new onion for Tk 180-190 while the Burmese variety was costing Tk 180-190 per kg.

He also said for lack of supply they had no inventory of the bulb's Egyptian, Chinese, and Pakistani types.

Shamsur also said the price of onion would fall by 50 percent in two weeks as the onion produced locally and the imported ones began to hit the market.

Bangladesh Consumers Association (CAB) President Ghulam Rahman said there is an annual demand of about 30 lakh tons of onion in the world, one-third of which is expected to be imported.

He said a syndicate of importers, stockholders, wholesalers and retailers took advantage of the supply crunch following India's ban on the export of onions and jacked up the price. "In the retail market, which was Tk 20-25 in January-February this year, the onion prices surged to Tk 250 per kg." Ghulam Rahman said that if the government had taken steps earlier, customers would not have to struggle.

Nevertheless, he expressed the expectation that in December, when local onion and imported ones are available in large amounts on the market, the price of the onion will fall to Tk 20-40 a kg.

Dr. Shahidul Islam, Chief Executive Officer of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID), recently told reporters at his Kakrail office that the country imported more than 167,806 tons of onion from August to November 18 at a price of Tk 660 crore.

 Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi said that in the first week of December as imported and local onions hit the market, the price of the onion will become steady.