Staff Reporter :
The Bangladesh Bank (BB) has imposed cap reducing lending rate for financing onion import to keep its cost lower in the market.
The direction will remain effective until December 30 this year to ensure smooth supply of the spice items to the local market.
The BB has been asked to keep the lending rate on onion import financing at maximum 11 per cent, according to a directive issued by the central bank on Thursday. Banks usually impose 14 to 15 per cent rate on normal import.
“We’ve taken the measures temporally aiming to ease the price of essentials in the market,” a BB senior official said.
He said the banks have also been asked to keep letter of credit (LC) margin at minimum level in this connection.
The central bank has taken the decision against the backdrop of sudden rise in onion price in the market after India raised the minimum export price of the key cooking ingredient by $275 per ton.
Currently, imported onion is being sold at Tk 90 to Tk 100 per kg, up from Tk 55 to Tk 60 a week ago.
According to Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB in the last one month, the price of imported onion went up 113 per cent.
