Staff Reporter :
The government on Tuesday sent a total of 10 teams to districts for monitoring the supply, price and stock of onion in the market, officials said.
The teams, each led by a joint secretary, have been sent to Cox’s Bazar, Chattogram, Faridpur, Rajbari, Jashore, Dinajpur, Pabna, Satkhira, Sirajganj and Shariatpur.
While visiting both the retail and wholesale markets in the districts concerned, they will take action against hoarding and artificial price hike of the kitchen item if found, the officials said.
The Commerce Ministry issued an office order on Tuesday morning in this regard.
Just a day after India’s onion export ban on Monday, the country’s markets witnessed an increase of onion prices up to Tk 50 per kilogram, which market observers described as ‘artificial’.
And that prompted the government to swing into action — forming the 10 teams for monitoring the markets outside Dhaka — in an effort to check the galloping onion price.
On that day, Commerce Secretary Md Jafar Uddin said the teams will visit mainly production hubs of onion, wholesale market and talk to the Deputy Commissioners (DCs) concerned how to prevent hoarding and ensure adequate supply of the essential spice item in the market.
Bangladesh is a major importer of the Indian onion and so any price change of the spice price in the neighbouring country spills over the border onto the country’s market.
Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) Secretary Humayun Kabir Bhuiyan said that poor market monitoring encouraged traders to raise the prices whimsically.a
Citing that the country produced 1.9 million tonnes of onion and imported a total of 1.1 million tonnes this year, the CAB secretary said, adding, “So, there is no logic behind the prices going up by such a big margin when the demand for onion is estimated at 2.4 million tonnes.”
The government on Tuesday sent a total of 10 teams to districts for monitoring the supply, price and stock of onion in the market, officials said.
The teams, each led by a joint secretary, have been sent to Cox’s Bazar, Chattogram, Faridpur, Rajbari, Jashore, Dinajpur, Pabna, Satkhira, Sirajganj and Shariatpur.
While visiting both the retail and wholesale markets in the districts concerned, they will take action against hoarding and artificial price hike of the kitchen item if found, the officials said.
The Commerce Ministry issued an office order on Tuesday morning in this regard.
Just a day after India’s onion export ban on Monday, the country’s markets witnessed an increase of onion prices up to Tk 50 per kilogram, which market observers described as ‘artificial’.
And that prompted the government to swing into action — forming the 10 teams for monitoring the markets outside Dhaka — in an effort to check the galloping onion price.
On that day, Commerce Secretary Md Jafar Uddin said the teams will visit mainly production hubs of onion, wholesale market and talk to the Deputy Commissioners (DCs) concerned how to prevent hoarding and ensure adequate supply of the essential spice item in the market.
Bangladesh is a major importer of the Indian onion and so any price change of the spice price in the neighbouring country spills over the border onto the country’s market.
Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) Secretary Humayun Kabir Bhuiyan said that poor market monitoring encouraged traders to raise the prices whimsically.a
Citing that the country produced 1.9 million tonnes of onion and imported a total of 1.1 million tonnes this year, the CAB secretary said, adding, “So, there is no logic behind the prices going up by such a big margin when the demand for onion is estimated at 2.4 million tonnes.”
