Onion prices witnessed further hike on Tuesday and shot up to Tk 110 per kg at retail market amid the ban on export by neighbouring India on Monday.
Thus, a large crowd of people gathered in front Open Market Sale (OMS) trucks run by the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) for onions.
TCB was providing onion at a subsidised rate of Tk 30 per kg from 275 trucks across the country.
On Monday, India slapped a ban on onion exports through a notification issued by its Directorate General of Foreign Trade following a shortage of the spice there.
The ban put severe impact on Bangladeshi market as the price of the essential rose by 40-63 per cent hike in one day, according to the TCB.
Local onion was sold at Tk 100-110 per kg and imported Indian varieties were sold at Tk 75-85 per kg at retail markets on Tuesday.
Moreover, wholesale prices also showed notable hike.
Imported onion was being sold at Tk 60-65 and local at Tk 78-90 a kg at wholesale markets in Shyambazar, Karwan Bazar and Beribadh-Rayer Bazar which were selling at Tk 37-42 and Tk 48-55 a kg respectively on Monday morning, said traders.
Narayan Chandra Saha, proprietor of Nabin Traders at Shyambazar, said the prices of imported onions also put impact on local onions.
He said traders in Faridpur, Rajbari, Gopalganj and Kushtia have raised local onion prices by 60-70 per cent overnight.
Local Taherpuri variety of onion of Faridpur was Tk 2,100 per 50 kg sack on Monday morning which has jumped to Tk 3,500 a sack on Tuesday, he added.
Consumers Association of Bangladesh Secretary Humayun Kabir Bhuiyan, said lack of market monitoring and poor diplomacy have caused the overnight price hike of the essential.
He said the commerce ministry should have knowledge of any kind of such decision by the friendly Indian government so that precautionary measures could be taken.
Bhuiyan said the government should now increase market monitoring and must encourage local traders to import the item from Myanmar, Pakistan, Egypt, China and Turkey where prices are still much lower.
He further stated authentic data on local production of onion should be delivered immediately by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) for initiating proper import policy.
However, a few media reports revealed that some Chattogram and Dhaka-based traders have opened letter of credits ( L/Cs) for importing 12,000 tonnes of onions from other countries than India.
The traders will bring in onion from Myanmar, Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt and elsewhere in the globe.
Bangladesh produces 1.9-2.0 million tonnes of onion annually against a demand for 2.6-2.8 million tonnes.
The shortfall is met by import mainly from India.
