The price of onion has continued to rise steeply crossing to a record Tk 250 per kilogram mark at different kitchen markets in Bangladesh, putting consumers to wonder whether to use onions in curry anymore.
However, even worse and unbelievable, according to reports sent by different district correspondents, onion is being sold between Tk 270 and 280 per kg at different areas of the country on Saturday.
Onion price at country’s retail markets increased more than 700 per cent compared to three months ago, the highest level in last several years. In August this year, onion price was only Tk 30 per kg.
While visiting different kitchen markets, consumers shared with this correspondent that it was unbelievable to them that the onion price could rise in such a way that it can cross Tk 250 per kg mark and it is still rising as trend shows.
“When the price of onion reached Tk 60 from Tk30 per kg, I stopped buying onion from the kitchen market. I thought I would buy it after its price stabled back again. But, the price did not come down rather skyrocketed unbelievably”, said Mahbub Hasan, a buyer who came to Khilgoan Kitchen Market.
Rina Rahman, 46, while purchasing onion from a retail shop at Shewrapara Kitchen Market, said, “I had to buy one kg locally grown onion at Tk 250. I have no alternative as it is the key cooking ingredient. The shopkeepers fear that the price may continue to rise and may reach Tk 300 per kg within next one or two days.”
Although importers have brought thousands of tonnes of onion from Myanmar, but the price continued to rise on a daily basis. The government on Friday announced procuring onion from Turkey importing the item by airways to keep enough supply in the markets.
Besides, the importers are procuring onion from other countries, including China, Russia, Egypt, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Ukraine. However, there is no positive effect in the local markets on these initiatives.
According to traders and consumers, local onion varieties are being sold at between Tk 250 and Tk 280, while the imported varieties (Myanmar and China) are being sold at Tk 220 and Tk 250 per kg.
Experts said that a strong syndicate is pulling the strings behind the price hike of onion.
Conscious Consumers’ Society (CCS) on November 2 said at a press conference that a syndicate has been realising Tk 50 crore per day and seized more than Tk 3,150 crore over the last four months by creating artificial crisis of onion in the country.
CCS fixed the logical price of per kilogram (Kg) onion as Tk 30 from July to September and fixed Tk 50 for per Kg onion till October 31 as the logical price.
CCS Executive Director Palash Mahmud said, “The syndicate took Tk 397 crore and 67 lakh in July, Tk 491 crore and 43 lakh in August, Tk 825 crore and 26 lakh in September and Tk 1,464 crore and 99 lakh in October by deceiving the consumers.”
CCS and experts suggested conducting drives against syndicates responsible for the price hike and fixing the highest possible price for onion for a certain period.
Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) has been selling onion in the open market at a subsidised rate, but it is insufficient. Hundreds of buyers on Saturday were seen waiting to buy the commodity from a truck of TCB at press club. But many of them did not get any onion despite waiting in queue for a long time.
