Staff Reporter :
Traders are counting huge losses as hundreds of sacks of onions decomposed at their warehouses in the in Chattagram’s Khatunganj wholesale market. Per 50 kg sack of such onion is being sold there for only Tk 10.
They said onions are being rotted because of unawareness about containers while loading ships in the exporting countries.
The onions prices dropped at the retail markets in Chattagram since the last week, although it is still high in the capital and selling at Tk 80-85 per kg.
According to the Chattogram port sources, some 14,000 tonnes of onion have been imported from different countries and stored in the port with more ships carrying onions are on the way.
Importers, however, are not receiving the quick discount from these onion ports as they are not getting adequate price.
To quell the traders’ trouble, huge air-conditioned containers full of onions and fruits have been installed at the port. Ship stays at the jetty extra day since port lacks of spaces to keep these specialized containers on its yard.
Manjur Morshed, an importer at Zarif Trade International, said, “The goods are getting rotted as they are unable to release the onions from the port timely. Besides, there is temperature problemme in the ships.” Mamunur Rashid, owner of Nazrul & Sons Trading International said, “We will not recover even 20 percent of our investment as some rotted onions are selling only Tk 10 per 50 Kg sack. Most of the onions have to be discarded and we are not getting a single penny from that.”
“We are losing crores of taka, but now the government does not have a headache. The administration also has no headache. They are not taking care of it,” he said
Commerce Ministry sources, however, said that the onions are getting rotted due to the importers’ greed for high profit.
“The onions remained unsold as the prices of the imported onions dropped in the markets. The importers always want to earn high profit by hostaging people and creating artificial crisis. So, it could be a natural punishment for the unscrupulous traders,” said an official of the Ministry.
It is learnt that the onion prices have been dropped in the markets in Chattagram since the last week after the markets became volatile for long following India banning the export of onion on September 14 this year.
India stopped exporting, onion to Bangladesh for which consignments have been coming from China, Turkey, Myanmar, Egypt and Pakistan.
Traders said imported onions are being sold at a minimum price of Tk 30 per kg while domestic onion at a maximum price of Tk 65 per kg.
Mohammad Idris, General Secretary of the Khatunganj Onion Storekeepers’ Association, said Chinese onions were selling at Tk 30-35 per Kg, Iranian onions at Tk 30-35, Egyptian onions at Tk 38-40, Pakistani onions at Tk 40-45 a kg and Myanmar onions were available at Tk 40-45 per kg.
Rotten onions are being sold at Tk 5 to 10 a kg, he added.
Idris said many importers, however, incurred loss since they are selling at a lower price of Tk 10 a kg than that their purchasing price in addition to onions getting rotted.
