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After a three and a half month hiatus, onion imports from India resumed. The first shipment of Indian trucks loaded with onions entered the country through Hili’s land port in Dinajpur on Saturday. On September 14, the Indian government halted onion exports to Bangladesh on the pretext of a crisis in the domestic market and rising prices. Meanwhile, after India lifted the export ban, now that onions are entering the country, importers in Chittagong appear to have been struck by lightning. In this situation, there is a fear that these onions will be released from the Chittagong port.
Around 23,000 tonnes of onions brought from alternative countries instead of India are known to be found in the Chittagong port. The purchase price for this onion is Rs 83 million. Importers were slowly getting discounts at these onion ports as prices plummeted in the country’s wholesale market. For this reason, this onion has been in an air-conditioned container for a month.
Indian trucks carrying onions began entering the land port from India through the Healy checkpoint yesterday afternoon. The matter has been confirmed by Harun Ur Rashid Harun, President of Healy Land Port Import-Export Group. Mahfuzar Rahman Babu, an onion importer there, said: “Today (Saturday) one of my trucks (19 tons) of onions came from India. I will sell it for Rs 23-25 per kg in the country market.
Meanwhile, traders in Chittagong say the purchase price of imported onions before they fell at the port was around 40 taka, but now they are sold on the market for 30 taka. As a result, it is not possible to sell this onion with such a large loss per kg. Apart from this, prices are coming down in the market due to the influx of onions from India.
Kamrul Islam, owner of Kyle Store, an onion importer, said: “Six containers of onions from Myanmar have been in Chittagong port for 10 days. I was unable to discount mainly because prices were falling in the market and I did not get the documents to release the product. He said: ‘Indian onions have already started coming in, now God knows what the market will be. These onions are purchased at Rs 40-42 per kg, and the current market price is about half. What will happen after leaving the port. I’ll take a discount. ‘
It is known that on September 14 last year, when India suddenly imposed a ban on onion exports, Bangladeshi traders were in trouble. The price of onion continues to rise from the next day. To keep prices under control, the government took the initiative to bring onions through large industrial groups, including loan facilities and tariff reductions. In view of this, the traders obtained permission to import about three and a half lakh tons of onions.
An official from the Chittagong port traffic department said that as of last Friday, 210,000 tons of onions had been released through the Chittagong port. These onions have arrived at the Chittagong port from at least 15 countries around the world. Of this, some 23,000 tons of onions are in the port yard until last Friday. Despite our letter urging shipping lines, freight forwarders, importers and C&F agents involved in onion imports to get a quick discount, 23,000 tons remained. If the importer does not get a discount from the port after 45 days of landing at the port, the customs authorities will auction the onions.
Importers who did not get the exemption from the Chittagong port said that some onions were rotten, some onions were of poor quality after shipment. If there was a crisis in the market, it would have supplied this onion, but now the market has collapsed. Therefore, the supplier is asked to remove this onion.
Traders will lose money as Indian onions enter the country market. Not only that, the affected traders say they will not respond to the government’s call in the future if the Indian onion is allowed to enter the wholesale market until the onion from Chittagong port is sold.
Manjur Morshed, an onion importer from Chittagong, said that those who have onions in Chittagong port will not get any discounts from the port if they bring onions from India now. As a result, those importers will go bankrupt. If this happens, will any other businessman respond to the government’s call to handle the crisis in the future? Do you bring onions from alternative countries? He asked the question.
With the arrival of Indian onions, the price of onions in Chittagong’s Khatunganj has started to fall. Except for the small varieties of Turkish onions, all onions are sold in the market for Rs 22 to Rs 35. And small onions in Turkey are sold at Rs 40 per yard.
Asiyar Rahman, managing director of OKM Trading, an onion importer, says that if the onions come from India, they won’t be able to compete in the onion markets of other countries. He said that if Indian onion enters the country, it will be around 20 Tk per kg. As a result, the onion from the alternative country will not be able to survive in the competition. Those who have answered the government’s call should at least have the opportunity to sell them.
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