Amid the growing concern over onion prices after India, the country’s largest onion exporter, suspended onion exports, the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission has urged the government to look for alternative onion markets.

The commission has prepared a report on the impact on the local onion market following the Indian ban on onion export.

According to the report, locally produced onions can meet 65-70% of the demand in the country.The onion season in the country starts in March. As such, there are still three and a half months left for new onions to grow.

Neighboring Myanmar is considered an alternative but it is not possible to import from there due to the ongoing internal crisis.

Director General of the Directorate of National Consumers Right Protection AHM Shafiquzzaman said the price hike starts from Khatunganj and Shyambazar and affects wholesale and retail markets. Importers also get involved in manipulation.

 Action should be taken against those who have misused India’s export ban and hiked the prices irrationally overnight.

Consumers Forum General Secretary Emdad Hossain Malek said onion prices rose by Tk70-80 per kg overnight after the export ban, which proves the moral decay of traders. Earlier, prices of several products, including potatoes, oil, sugar, and meat, were increased unjustifiably. As the culprits were never punished, onion traders have taken the advantage.

 According to the report of the tariff commission, Bangladesh can import onions from Egypt, Turkey, China, Malaysia, Pakistan and the Netherlands. However,  the tastes of these varieties of onions are different from that of the local ones.

On the other hand, after opening an import LC, it will take one to two months for an onion consignment to arrive in the country.

Now, the “murikata” onion is available in the market but it will not last long. These onions cannot be stored.
According to the commission, 2.5 lakh tonnes of onions need to be imported to ensure adequate supply until the potato season starts.

The country’s annual onion demand is 27 to 28 lakh tonnes. In FY23, the local production was 33.9 lakh tonnes. However, excluding losses during collection and storage, 25.49 lakh tonnes of onions were supplied to the market.

 According to the Bangladesh Bank, 5.85 lakh tonnes of onion was imported into the country from July to November this year, which is 2.56 lakh tonnes more than the same period last year.
The country’s onion planting season is divided into two parts – Kharip is produced from August to September and Robi from December to January.

The government has taken the initiative to import some 52,000 metric tons of onion from India against the LCs opened earlier in a bid to curtail the price of such an essential item in the local kitchen market.
The Ministry of Commerce has already sent a letter to the Bangladesh High Commission to take the necessary action in this regard.

 A total of 10% duty has been imposed on onion import along with 5% customs duty. In this case, the tariff commission recommends that these duties be withdrawn till 31 March.