Onion prices drop on entry of Indian variety

Prices of locally grown and imported onions have seen a sharp fall in Dhaka and Chattogram, as India has recently resumed export of the vegetable after a five-and-a-half-month ban.

Prices dropped 15 per cent to Tk 35-50 a kilogram at the retail levels in Dhaka yesterday from the previous day, according to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh.

Onions grown in Pabna were sold at Tk 30 a kg yesterday at Khatunganj wholesale hub, down from Tk 35 a day earlier. The prices of the Meherpur variety also fell to Tk 26 per kg from Tk 30 on Sunday.

Businesses were found selling the Burmese ones at Tk 35 a kg, which was about Tk 47 on Sunday, Tk 52 on Saturday and Tk 65 a week earlier.

The Egyptian and Turkish onions have seen the highest fall in prices.

The Egyptian onions were sold at Tk 25 a kg, down from Tk 32 on Sunday, Tk 40 on Saturday and Tk 45 a week before, said Md Ali Talukder, owner of M/s Meher Traders at Hamidullah Miah Market that houses a number of commission agents and onion warehouses in Khatunganj.

The wholesalers in Khatunganj began releasing onions at cheaper rates as truckloads of the Indian variety have already started entering Bangladesh since Sunday.

Over 200 trucks with Indian onions have reached Bangladesh through Hili, Sonamasjid and other land ports in the last two days, said Mohammad Idris, general secretary of Hamidullah Miah Market Traders Association.

Some of those trucks would arrive here by Monday night or Tuesday morning.

"The importers have asked us to get rid of our stock as early as possible, as they sense that their demand would decrease in the presence of Indian onions," said Mohammad Faruk, a commission agent and owner of M/s Ira Traders.

The wholesalers have been trying to sell off the imported onions, which normally have the least number of customers, Idris said.

Some traders have been offering Indian onions at Tk 37 per kg, although the onions are not that good in quality.

"We came to know that the Indian onions have the same quality that the Meherpur or Burmese ones have."

India has resumed exporting onion at a time when the locally grown onions have started coming to the market, Idris said, while urging the government to impose duty on Indian onions to help the local farmers get good prices.