Onion market started to become volatile as of Sunday as prices witnessed a further significant hike over the past two days.
Local onion was selling at Tk 60-68 per kilogramme (kg) at kitchen markets which was Tk 40-50 a kg earlier.
Imported onions were retailed at Tk 45-55 a kg from Tk 30-40 a kg a week back.
The Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) recorded 40-54 per cent hike in onion prices in a week and 70-90 per cent in a month.
Traders said a surge in import cost as well as low domestic production have led to such hike.
Market blamed syndication of big importers and traders for the cause of such exorbitant rise in prices of the popular vegetable.
They are fearing price volatility like that of September- November period of 2019, when prices of onions shot up an all-time high-- Tk 280-300 a kg amid an export ban by neighbouring India.
Md Limon, a spice and potato vendor at Rayer Bazar in the city, said onion prices are increasing everyday by Tk 2.0-3.0 a kg for the last one and half weeks at Shyambazar and Karwan Bazar wholesale market.
He said people have also raised their purchase volume fearing further hike which have fuelled up prices even more due to increased demand.
Narayan Chandra Saha, a Shyambazar based importer said prices of onion increased by Tk 12-14 a kg in last two weeks.
He said local production was also low this year as many farmers collected immature onions to get good price.
However, a Times of India (TOI) report published on Sept 5, said prices of onion at Lasalgaon in Maharashtra, the biggest onion market in the world, increased by 25 per cent in a week.
The report said average price of one kg of onions was Rs 20 (nearly Tk 24) on Sept 4.
It said 30 per cent of stock of onions has been destroyed by rain and flood.
The TOI report also said the rising price trend might continue until mid-October before beginning of harvesting of Khariph-2 crops there.
Consumers Association of Bangladesh Secretary Humayun Kabir Bhuiyan, said the price trend is reminding us the volatility of September 2019.
But there is no logic of such exorbitant hike in Bangladeshi market as India hasn't imposed any ban yet and import cost is still below Tk 30 a kg, he said.
And a syndicate also raised the price of local onions without any reason, he said.
Mr Bhuiyan said strict market monitoring is needed to prevent any unprecedented hike in onion prices for the nexus of big importers and traders.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Minister on Sunday said open market sale (OMS) of onion may start to give commoners a relief.
However, traders started to raise prices of onion despite a meeting with the commerce ministry two weeks back (August 20 last).
In the meeting the commerce ministry asked the traders to increase import of onions from late September to avoid repetition of last year's price debacle.
The commerce ministry said it was keeping a close watch on the key import channels on most-consumed goods to remove any possible problems, said official concerned to the FE.
To this end, commerce ministry sat in a special meeting with representatives of importers and traders of kitchen items at the secretariat.
"The meeting discussed local demand, domestic production and onion import to devise strategies to keep supply and price of the product stable in the local market," a senior official told the FE.
The ministry would further discuss the onion issue in the next meeting of its task-force committee headed by commerce secretary.
"We've given priority to two neighbouring countries, Indian and Myanmar, for importing onions in the future, if required," the official mentioned.
Besides, the ministry might ask the TCB to take a time-befitting plan in this regard, he added.
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