Onion import has resumed from India through Benapole port after two months.117 metric tonnes of onions were imported from India on Thursday afternoon, port authorities confirmed.
Import price of onion is Tk 35 per kg. This Indian onion is being sold in the market at Tk 40 per kg. If the import is normal, the price will be further reduced, said the importers.
On the news of onion import, the price of domestic onion is being reduced by Tk 5 per kg in the retail market.
The onion market is in crisis as the low-lying areas are flooded and onions were not stored properly. The government allowed the import of onions to keep the onion market normal on Eid -ul -Azha. An onion buyer in Benapole Nazrul Islam said that on Thursday, I also bought local onion at Tk 50 per kg. Onion import from India made the onion price come down by Tk 5 per kg. We are very glad that the price is a bit lower.
Onion retailer Tariqul Islam said that with the import of onions from India, the price of domestic onions has started declining. If the import is normal, the price will go down further. However, local onion sellers are facing losses in importing Indian onions.
Al Mamun, an onion importer from Khulna, said that the import of onions has started as the government has given import permits. His company imported 50 metric tonnes of onions from India.
Imported onions are being sold at Tk 35 per kg. If the imports and supplies increase, prices will be fall further. Benapole Port Deputy Director Mamun Tarafdar said that after two months, onion imports resumed through Benapole port, with 117 metric tones of onions imported from India. The port has been kept open for 24 hours for quick release of imported onions.
Hemant Kumar Sarkar, Assistant Director, Benapole Plant Quarantine Center, said,
The annual demand of onion in the country is 36 lakh metric tonnes. But the onion production in the country is 32 lakh tons. Last year, onion production in the country increased by 2 lakh 89 thousand tons. Due to lack of wild, heat and storage, 20 percent of the produced onions are wasted. So we have to depend on imports for almost the whole year to meet the demand.
