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In less than a year, the volatile onion market is back. The excuse is the same: shortage of supply in the country market, prices are rising in the Indian market. But this is just a lame argument. Onions are imported from India at a price of Rs 14-15 per kg. And that onion is sold in the retail market at a price four times higher: 60 rupees.
Last month 63,006 tonnes of onions were imported from different countries. Most of it came from India. Why imported onions at a cost of 15 rupees are sold for 70 rupees in the retail market. In search of the reason for this, as always, information has emerged about the manipulation of speculative traders. Although there are sufficient stocks of onions, prices rise again creating an artificial crisis.
Stakeholders say there is no real reason for the onion price increase. Even after this, we should find out why the price is suddenly rising. They say exemplary action is never taken against traders who repeatedly loot profits by manipulating the price of onions. As a result, they have the opportunity to cut shoppers’ pockets over and over again by tampering.
According to the source, the price of onion has become volatile in the country’s market due to the ‘September panic’. In the last three weeks, the prices of all kinds of onions have skyrocketed. The domestic onion price has doubled and sells for Rs 70-80. In the middle of last month, the price was 35-40 rupees. And the price of imported Indian onion is now Rs 50-60, which was Rs 25-30 before. A trader from Maniknagar, in the capital, said he could not bring any more onions from Shyambazar. Prices have gone up a lot. We buy at a higher price and sell at a lower profit. If the price goes up, traders like us have more trouble selling.
But multi-level traders blame each other for the price increase. Habibur Rahman, manager of the Karwan Bazar warehouse in the capital, said: “We do not import onions directly from India.” There are some importers, they import onions and supply them to us. We launch onions on the market according to their price. Here we get a small commission. I buy and sell at a higher price.
The central bank monitors data on imports of goods from abroad. This observation is based on the information provided by the banks on a weekly basis. Last August 63,008 tons of onions were imported through the opening of LCs in the banks. Importers have spent one crore 39 lakh 36 thousand dollars or 116 crore 45 lakh taka. The cost per ton has been $ 226. In August last year, 56,489 tonnes were imported. As a result, imports have increased by 45.55 percent this year.
According to the Bangladesh Bank report, onions were imported in the first and last week of August at the rate of 15 taka per kg. In the second, third and fourth weeks, the price was even lower: 14 rupees per kg. In August last year, the price of onion was Rs 18-25 per kg. As a result, the import price has been reduced from 18 to 40 percent. However, in the last week of August, the onion price has risen some rupees due to the opening of new LCs. The price of onion has been reduced to 19 Tk per kg.
Hafizur Rahman, an onion importer from India, said that the onions take at least a week to arrive. Although the LC was opened earlier, the onions had to be brought in at a later price a week later. In India, the price of onion has gone up a lot. So we had to bring onions at a higher price. On top of that, the price of Indian onion has risen in the country market due to transportation fees and workers’ wages.
Importers and traders said that after the shipment of onions reaches the port, one more rupee per kg is spent for some government and incidental expenses. In addition, from these ports to the capital it costs from one to one and a half rupees per kilo. Importers then sell the onions to wholesalers. It goes from wholesalers to retailers. However, after being imported from India, the onions reach consumers in three or four hands. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the annual demand for onions in the country is 2.4 million tons. Last year the production was 23.30 million tons. The rest is imported.
Regarding the increase in the domestic onion price, Shahabuddin, a Malibagh wholesaler, said that there is no onion crisis in the country. As the price of onion has risen in India, a class of unscrupulous stockists is selling less onions in the market. This is creating an artificial crisis, the price of domestic onions is also rising. The onions are already in stock. The onions are not supposed to be damaged by the rains and floods there. The price is determined considering the amount of damage. It is not supposed to increase the price again.
In September last year, the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Department conducted an investigation to find out the reason for the increase in onion prices. In addition to manipulating the greed of importers and traders for additional profits, there are some real reasons for the price increase. One of the main reasons for the increase in prices is India’s dependence solely on imports. Therefore, the committee recommended looking for alternative countries for imports and taking effective measures to maintain normal supply throughout the year.
Golam Rahman, president of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB), said that policies do not work in business. The only policy of traders is how to make a profit. So they just look for opportunities. There has been a list of manipulators before. But there was no exemplary punishment. As a result, dishonest merchants are getting more courageous. He added that prices are going up in India. The government should increase imports of onions from alternative sources such as Myanmar, Egypt and China. This will reduce the price. But the government should increase the country’s productivity. Leaving the dependence on imports. The market will stabilize automatically if the national production is at a satisfactory level against the demand.
When India stopped exporting in September last year, the country’s market soared to Rs 250 per kg. Onions are imported from various countries including Myanmar, Thailand, Egypt, China and Pakistan to overcome the crisis. Onions are even brought in by plane. India then announced the lifting of the export ban in early March this year. The price of onion in the country market dropped from Rs 30 to Rs 40.
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