Economic Reporter :
Despite the government’s vigilance and assurance of ample import, the prices of onion increased again on Tuesday after a slight decline in last two days.
Onions of local varieties were traded at Tk 135-145 a kg, while those of imported varieties at Tk 125-130 a kg at retail markets across the capital on the day, showing Tk 10 a kg hike in a day.
Prices of the spice also showed a Tk 8-12 a kg hike at Shyambazar, Karwan Bazar and Beribadh wholesale markets in the city on the day.
Md Shahidul Islam, proprietor of Alhaj Vandar at Shyambazar, said onion prices have increased following its price hike by Chattogram importers.
The markets are now flooded mostly with Burmese onions, and supply of local onions is declining.
He also said importers are yet to find any channel to import onion using Chennai-Chttaogram sea route.
The Indian government relaxed its onion export ban on October 28, and permitted export of ‘Bengaluru Rose’ variety of the spice only through Chennai Port until November 30.
“The Chattogram-based importers are not interested to bring Indian onions because of their much higher prices than those of Myanmar, Turkey and Egypt,” Islam said. The government should ask the importers of Chattogram for explaining the reasons behind the present high prices of onion.
The Chattogram-based importers are now controlling the country’s onion market, he added.
According to the data of commerce ministry, a strong syndicate comprising with 15 importers, C&F agents and wholesalers in Chattogram are involved with the price hike.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Commerce and the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP) continued their drives in Dhaka and Chittagong.
Md Masum Arefin, an assistant director of the DNCRP, said that they conducted drives at four markets in the city’s Mohammadpur and Gulshan areas. A total of six shops in these areas were fined Tk 6,000 for not maintaining price charts.
A government monitoring team, led by deputy secretary Md Selim Hossain, conducted drive at Khatunganj wholesale market in Chattogram on Monday.
The team fined some traders Tk 25,000 for selling onions at much higher rates than their purchasing prices, according to media reports.
However, Humayun Kabir Bhuiyan, secretary of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB), said vigilance is almost absence at import level.
Vigilance teams only fined the last-end traders of the several-tier marketing system.
The big importers in Chattogram and Cox’s Bazar are yet to come under scrutiny, he noted.
