Onion prices rose further in the last three days, augmenting the woes of the consumers.
The increased prices hit hard especially the commoners who had already dug deep into their pockets to meet the rising cost of living, triggered by the price hike of other essentials, including staple rice.
Local varieties of onions hit Tk 45-50 a kilogram (kg) at the city retail markets on Tuesday from Tk 35-42 a kg earlier.
The kitchen staple was selling at Tk 30-35 per kg one and a half weeks back, according to the market sources.
Onion prices witnessed a significant hike for the second time in the last one and a half weeks.
On average, the state-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) recorded a 21 per cent hike in local onion prices in the last one week.
Imported varieties also became costlier as Egyptian and Turkish ones were retailed at Tk 30-38 a kg on the day, recording more than 20 per cent hike, according to the state trading arm.
Traders said stock of an early variety of onion, known as 'murikata', declined recently. The decline of the stock considerably aided the latest price hike, they viewed.
However, they expected that prices of the tuber spice would cool down in the next couple of weeks with a rise in the supply of seasonal onion known as 'haali', in the market.
Jewel Rana, a spice vendor at the city's West Dhanmondi, on Tuesday said onion prices showed Tk 5.0-6.0 a kg hike at the wholesale level in the last three days.
He mentioned that kitchen staple became costlier for the second time in the last ten days.
Mr Rana also said that the local varities were sold at Tk 38-43 a kg at the wholesales in the last two days.
Narayan Chandra Saha, a Shyambazar-based spice wholesaler, said onion prices had been showing an upward trend for the last 14 days amid a decline in supply of 'murikata'.
He informed that harvest of the seasonal onion started in different onion-growing places and it would get momentum soon. "It (the harvesting) will be in full swing within the next two weeks," Mr Saha said.
He also said that farm level prices of the seasonal onion hit a maximum Tk 31 a kg on Monday evening in Rajbari district and part of Faridpur which was being traded at Tk 34-38 a kg at the capital's Shyambazar.
Mr Saha pointed out that production cost of the seasonal onion was much higher this year--Tk 25-26 per kg - amid soaring prices of onion seeds and other inputs.
He said production was very good in the current season, adding "There is no concern of supply crunch for the next five months."
Mr Saha further said that the government should monitor the 'yawning gap' between the wholesale and retail prices for the sheer interest of consumers.
Monowar Hossain, a trader at Sadeq Khan Agricultural Market in Rayerbazar-Beribadh, said imports from India declied amid high price of onion in the neighbouring country.
A ten per cent duty on onion import imposed by the government of Bangladesh to protect local farmers was also a reason for the downturn in import, he mentioned.
He also mentioned that a notable number of traders in Bangladesh this year made a huge investment on onion production by establishing links with the farmers to avoid imports from India whose market was uncertain.
The onion price in Bangladesh hit all-time high in late 2019 and again in 2020 following imposing of export ban by Indian government due to poor harvest in that country.
Mr Hossain continued that the traders were also willing to keep the local onion market vibrant for their own interest as any debacle could hurt both the farmers and the investors.
Noted economist and value chain expert Prof Golam Hafeez Kennedy said considering the production cost of onion this year, the price of the cooking ingredient should be fixed at above Tk 28 per kg at farm level during the harvesting season.
To prevent any kind of market manipulation, he suggested introducing multi-tier strict monitoring. Strict monitoring should be there at wholesales and even at retails, he said.
He noted that onion was much pricier in the neighbouring India than Bangladesh this time too which discouraged local importers from bringing the spice from there.
But harvest of seasonal onion will also begin in full swing in the neighbouring country within a few days, he mentioned, adding "The government's decision to impose the 10 per cent duty on onion import should be in place to protect local farmers whose investments increased by 15-20 per cent this year for growing onion.
According to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), domestic production would hit a record this year if the weather remained favourable in the next one and a half months.
DAE sources said onion has been cultivated on 0.26 million hectares of land this year against 0.23 million hectares last year.
The DAE was expecting 2.9 million tonnes of onion in the current season.
Bangladesh produced nearly 2.0 million tonnes of onion in 2019-20 financial year, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.
The country has a demand for 2.5-2.6 million tonnes of the spice and the shortfall was met through import mainly from India so far, according to the commerce ministry.
