Reza Mahmud :
India has suspended onion export to Bangladesh without any prior information which came as a big shock for Bangladeshi consumers when prices of the key cooking ingredient continue to rise in local market.
The neighbouring country on Monday announced a ban on the export of onions with immediate effect.
It created fears of a crisis of the spice in Bangladeshi markets.
India’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, issued the notification signed by DGFT Amit Yadav and uploaded to the directorate’s website.
It said, :”Exports of all variety of onions is prohibited with immediate effect.”
Besides, India’s exporters are also demanding increased price of the product after stopping export without any formal announcement on Monday showing reasons behind the price hiking in their local market for the recent flood.
India’s ban on exporting onion to Bangladesh is an unexpected move when the latter is supplying hilsha to the next door neighbour as a goodwill gesture. The first consignment of the fish reached India on Monday.
“Around 1500 tonnes of hilsha will be exported to India as a goodwill gesture making the occasion of Durga Puja,” Commerce Secretary Dr. Md. Zafar Uddin said on Monday.
However, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi on the same day told journalists that there is no any official news available from India about stopping onion export.
“We are trying to get information from Delhi if they have suspended onion export to us,” he said.
Indian government was scheduled to sit in a meeting yesterday to decide about onion exporting. Referring to this, Commerce Minister said, “They may hike its price. If India really stops exporting the item, it will not push our market to an adverse situation like the previous year,” Tipu Munshi said.
The minister said that Bangladesh is importing large amount of onion from Turkey. And the country will also to import the product from Myanmar and other countries soon.
Businessmen of Bangladesh expressed their frustrations saying when the onion prices are increasing here, the neighbouring country has banned exporting the item without any pre announcement which will affect importers as well common Bangladeshi people seriously.
Business sources said on Monday, Indian custom officials suddenly banned onion trucks from entering Bangladesh through Benapole, Hili and other land ports.
In Benalpole, Bangladeshi importers said nearly 150 trucks loaded with onion stuck in Indian side of the land port.
Similarly no onion loaded in truck has been entered Bangladesh through Hili and Bhomora land ports.
Indian sources said, no truck loaded with onions has been allowed to enter Bangladesh by any ports.
Saiful Islam, onion importer in Hili port said, Indian exporters and C & F agents informed them on Monday that their government has stopped exporting of the product.
He said many Bangladeshi importers have opened LC to import onion from India. All of those importers will be affected seriously for such a sudden step of the neighboring country.
“Who will give us the compensation we will have for face for their sudden step,” Saiful Islam said.
Besides, Indian exporters claimed that onion prices have been increased in their internal market too.
In this situation, they cannot able to export the item to Bangladesh in its previous prices.
“Onion prices are increased in our local market. So, we cannot export it bellow 750 dollar per tonne. For that reason hundreds of truck with onions are stuck on Indian sides of ports,” said Kartik Ghosh of India’s Petrapole Exporters Association.
“If Bangladeshi importers re-arrange their LC by 750 dollar instead of the current 250 dollar, we have no objection to start exporting again,” said, India’s Bongaon’s exporter Anil Majumder. Rafiqul Islam Royal, importer of Benapole said, “We are importing the product at 250 dollar per tonne. But they have suddenly stopped exporting demanding 750 dollar showing cause of flood.” Azizur Rahman, Commissioner of Benalpole Customs House told journalists, “India suspended onion export to Bangladesh without any pre announcement.”
There is a norm of coordination between business to business among countries. They should have give time to Bangladeshi importers before stopping export.
Bangladeshi importers alleged that they have fallen in severe trouble for such a sudden step of the neighboring country. On the other hand, Bangladeshi traders have increased price of the product in local market after getting such news.
In Benapole, retail traders increased five taka per kg of onion selling at Tk 65 instead of its previous price of Tk 60.
In previous year, India increased onion price by 850 dollar per tones on September 13 to control their internal market price.
The country finally stopped onion export to Bangladesh on September 30 of the year.
As a result, price of the item hiked in Bangladeshi market by Tk 100 to 200 per kg and in November sold per kg of onion was sold at Tk 300.
The government later controlled the situation by importing the item from Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan, China and Myanmar.
The Commerce Minister said, the situation of onion market will not be worse like last year.
He said, beside advancing importing process from other countries, the government also has started onion selling by Trading Corporation of Bangladeshi (TCB).
Commerce Secretary Dr. Md. Zafar Uddin said there are sufficient stocks in TCB to control the market.
TCB is selling onion at Tk 30 per kg in its trucks across the country.
Officials of TCB said that 275 trucks have started selling onion and other products.
Among those, 40 trucks are selling products in Dhaka, 10 trucks in Chattogram and such in others cities and towns.
