The price of onion marked fresh rise on the capital’s kitchen markets over the week ending Friday due to an extreme supply dearth.
There is no possibility of decreasing the price of the item in the next three weeks till harvest of new onion in India, traders said.
The prices of onion — both imported and local — on average increased by 50 per cent to Tk 75 a kg and Tk 70 a kg respectively in a week.
A day before Eid-ul-Fitr on August 9, imported onion was being sold at Tk 45–Tk 48 a kg and local onion was being sold at Tk 50 a kg.
Now the imported onion was selling at Tk 75 a kg while the local onion was retailing at Tk 70 a kg.
The price of the item has been increasing continuously since Eid due to supply shortage and increasing price in India, the traders said.
The traders said they halted import of onion from India due to the fear of loss as the price of the item had increased abnormally in that country.
Abul Kalam Azad, an onion importer at Shyambazar, told New Age that the cultivation of onion hampered in different provinces of India due to unfavourable climate and so the price of the item had increased there.
India has already increased the export price of onion and the item was selling at Rs 80 a kg on the domestic market, he said.
‘Under the circumstance our importers have halted import of onion from India for fear of loss,’ Azad said.
He also said the imported onion had moved out from several kitchen markets in the city and its price already surpassed the price of local onion, which was quite unusual.
The Times of India reported that the average wholesale price of onion had more than doubled since the beginning of this month and the item was now selling at up to Rs 80 per kg in the city due to shortages blamed on excess monsoon rains destroying crops.
Insiders in the trade say prices are not likely to reverse till around September-end. Prices are likely to stabilise this week but another surge is expected in the coming week, the report said.
Commodity Online on Friday reported that India’s food and consumer affairs minister KV Thomas said, ‘It is seasonal. Besides, India’s production this time around is down by 7 lakh tonnes’.
‘The government has hiked the minimum export price for the commodity and has also constituted a committee comprising of agricultural secretary, commerce secretary and food secretary to look into the matter,’ he added.
As per the report the minister said, ‘We would wait for 10 days and if the prices do not come down, would ban exports’.
On the other hand, Bangladesh produces near about 12 lakh tonnes of onion every year which can meet only 50 per cent of total demand, Department of Agricultural Extension officials said.
The prices of other commodities including vegetables, broiler and ginger also increased in the retail markets over the week ending Friday.
The price of broiler increased by Tk 5 a kg and was selling at Tk 170 a kg on Friday.
The price of ginger increased by Tk 30 a kg and was selling at Tk 160 a kg on the day.
The prices of most of the vegetables remained high in the city’s kitchen markets.
Aubergine was selling at Tk 50-Tk 60 a kg, papaya at Tk 20 a kg, okra at Tk 40 a kg and bitter gourd at Tk 50 a kg on Friday.
The price of green chilli increased by Tk 20 a kg and was selling at Tk 120 a kg on the day.
Rohita was selling at Tk 300–Tk 450 a kg on Friday from Tk 250–Tk 350 a kg a week before, katla at Tk 280–Tk 400 a kg from Tk 250–Tk 300 a kg, pangas at Tk 200–Tk 300 a kg from Tk 180–Tk 300 a kg and tilapia at Tk 180–Tk 225 a kg from Tk 160–Tk 200 a kg, depending on their size and quality.
The prices of beef and mutton remained unchanged and were selling at Tk 300 a kg and Tk 450 a kg respectively on Friday.
Sugar was retailing at Tk 50-Tk 52 a kg in the city’s retail markets.
The price of edible oil remained stable on the market.
Unpacked soyabean was retailing at Tk 120 a kg and super palm oil at Tk 80 a kg over the week ending Friday.
The price of bottled soya bean oil (five litres) decreased by Tk 10 and was selling at Tk 625–Tk 650 on Friday.
Red lentil, imported from Turkey and Canada, was selling at Tk 75–Tk 85 a kg.
The price of fine variety of red lentil called ‘kangaroo’ was selling at Tk 130 a kg on Friday while the local variety of red lentil was selling at Tk 115 a kg.
The imported garlic price increased by Tk 10 and it was selling at Tk 70 a kg while the local garlic was retailing at Tk 90 a kg on the day.
The price of potato remained unchanged and the item was selling at Tk 18 a kg on the day.
New Age Sylhet correspondent adds: The prices of both local and imported onions have increased on the local markets after Eid-ul-Fitr.
The local onion was selling at Tk 80 per kg while the imported onion at Tk 75 by the retailers on the markets on Friday.
‘The traders are not importing onion from India because of high price there and the government is searching for alternative foreign markets to meet the local demand of the item,’ Faruk Ahmed, president of the Kalighat Businessmen Association, told New Age.
Courtesy of New Age
