News Desk :
Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh said onion prices in the market may not decline within the next one month.
“Onion prices may start falling in the last week of November as the new variety of onion will come in the market by that time,” he told journalists at his secretariat office on Monday.
“Some 80 per cent of onion in the market are produced in the country while 20 per cent are imported from India. Some are also imported from Myanmar. The onion is now being sold at higher prices in India’s Bangalore after fall in production due to lack of rain. Because of it, onion traders in Bangladesh have been seeking high prices of onion.
The prices of sugar and oil in market are also being sold at high rates. The prices may decline soon as the government has taken measures.
Tapan Kanti Ghosh said, “We have already sent letters to the authorities concerned. The NBR has been asked to withdraw duty on onion imports.”
Meanwhile, trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) is set to start selling onion at Tk 30 per kilogram.
In retail market, each kilogram of onions is now being sold at Tk 70.
TCB’s spoke person Humayun Kabir confirmed the news on Sunday.
“The onions, imported from Turkey, reached in Chattogram port. Those will be sold on trucks across the country. Every truck will be allowed to carry 700kgs of onions,” Humayun Kabir said.
Earlier, Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur Razzaque said the onion price would be brought under control within next 20 days.
“When the summer onions and imported ones will come to local markets, its price will decline and will be under control,” he said while talking to reporters at a research review workshop at Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) here on Sunday.
The agriculture minister said as the onion is a perishable commodity, its price sours up after its season for lack of storage.
