Onion price soars to Tk 60 a kg in Dhaka

The price of onions has soared by Tk 20 per kg in a week in the capital. Sellers are attributing the sudden spurt in price on the incessant rain and high import rate of onions from India.  
Onions were sold for Tk 60 to Tk 62 per kg at different kitchen markets in Dhaka yesterday. The price was Tk 45 per kg a week ago and Tk 50 even till the day before yesterday.
Mojibor Hossain, a vendor at Banasree kitchen market, told The Independent, “I bought onions for Tk 57 per kg last night from Karwan Bazaar, the largest wholesale kitchen market. Now I'm selling them for Tk 60 a kg.”  
Asked about the reason behind the price rise, he said, “The government knows the reason behind the price rise.”
Homemaker Mansura Begum, who was found purchasing onions from Rampura kitchen market yesterday, told The Independent, “The price of onions has been rising indiscriminately. There is no price monitoring at the city' kitchen market.” Strangely, onion production has been satisfactory in Bangladesh this year. However, the local markets are affected adversely due to the rising price of onions in India. With indications of substantial damage to India's onion production during the rainy season, which may impact the domestic supply, the Indian government has decided to increase the minimum export price of the key kitchen item from USD 250 (Rs 15,900) per tonne to USD 425 (Rs 27,027) a few months ago.
According to the commerce ministry, the annual demand for onions in Bangladesh is 2.2 million tonnes. The country usually produces 1.8 to 1.9 million tonnes of onions every year and imports 5-8 lakh tonnes to meet domestic demands, according to data received from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics and National Board of Revenue.
The Times of India, an Indian English language daily, reported that onion prices have soared by 25 per cent in New Delhi and by almost 50 per cent in Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai that in the past one month. The highest increase (by Rs. 27 per kg) has been recorded in Thiruvananthapuram.
With indications of continuation of such high prices for the next few weeks, the Indian government is set to place an order for the import of 10,000 tonnes of onions after opening tenders later this week.
Unseasonal rain in parts of India in May has badly affected the onion production, as almost 25 per cent of produce was lost. Onion supplies from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka usually reach the markets in July, but the southern crop has been hit by the dry spell, reported The Times of India.
At India’s largest wholesale onion market of Lasalgaon in Maharashtra, the average price has leaped by 54 per cent in two weeks to Rs. 2,550 per 100kg, the steepest rise since November 2013. To curb the domestic price spiral, the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India has floated a tender last week to import 10,000 tonnes of onions from Pakistan, China, Egypt, among other countries.

Onion price soars to Tk 60 a kg in Dhaka

The price of onions has soared by Tk 20 per kg in a week in the capital. Sellers are attributing the sudden spurt in price on the incessant rain and high import rate of onions from India. Onions were sold for Tk 60 to Tk 62 per kg at different kitchen markets in Dhaka yesterday. The price was Tk 45 per kg a week ago and Tk 50 even till the day before yesterday. Mojibor Hossain, a vendor at Banasree kitchen market, told The Independent, I bought onions for Tk 57 per kg last night from Karwan Bazaar, the largest wholesale kitchen market. Now Im selling them for Tk 60 a kg. Asked about the reason behind the price rise, he said, The government knows the reason behind the price rise. Homemaker Mansura Begum, who was found purchasing onions from Rampura kitchen market yesterday, told The Independent, The price of onions has been rising indiscriminately. There is no price monitoring at the city kitchen market. Strangely, onion production has been satisfactory in Bangladesh this year. However, the local markets are affected adversely due to the rising price of onions in India. With indications of substantial damage to Indias onion production during the rainy season, which may impact the domestic supply, the Indian government has decided to increase the minimum export price of the key kitchen item from USD 250 (Rs 15,900) per tonne to USD 425 (Rs 27,027) a few months ago. According to the commerce ministry, the annual demand for onions in Bangladesh is 2.2 million tonnes. The country usually produces 1.8 to 1.9 million tonnes of onions every year and imports 5-8 lakh tonnes to meet domestic demands, according to data received from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics and National Board of Revenue. The Times of India, an Indian English language daily, reported that onion prices have soared by 25 per cent in New Delhi and by almost 50 per cent in Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai that in the past one month. The highest increase (by Rs. 27 per kg) has been recorded in Thiruvananthapuram. With indications of continuation of such high prices for the next few weeks, the Indian government is set to place an order for the import of 10,000 tonnes of onions after opening tenders later this week. Unseasonal rain in parts of India in May has badly affected the onion production, as almost 25 per cent of produce was lost. Onion supplies from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka usually reach the markets in July, but the southern crop has been hit by the dry spell, reported The Times of India. At Indias largest wholesale onion market of Lasalgaon in Maharashtra, the average price has leaped by 54 per cent in two weeks to Rs. 2,550 per 100kg, the steepest rise since November 2013. To curb the domestic price spiral, the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India has floated a tender last week to import 10,000 tonnes of onions from Pakistan, China, Egypt, among other countries.