After a little drop, the price of onions has risen up to Tk 100 per kilogram to slash household budget estimates in the country.
The rise follows India’s decision to curb exports of the ‘politically sensitive’ kitchen vegetablewith a view to controling domestic prices.
Retailers were selling the local variety at Tk 95 or more a kg at Karwan Bazar and other kitchen markets in the capital on Friday, marking a Tk 20 rise from last week’s Tk 75 per kg and Tk 10 from Thursday’s Tk 85.
The retail price of imported onion was around Tk 75 a kg on Friday, with much the same hike as the local variety.
Local grocers were charging up to Tk 100 per kg for the local variety of the kitchen essential, which was also more than double the price being charged the same time last year.
According to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh, the price of this variety of onion was Tk 35 to 40 by the end of the season a year ago.
Both the consumers and the traders say the price of onions did not increase to this ‘intolerable’ level in recent past.
Importer Abdul Mazed of Old Dhaka’s Shyambazar said India raised the minimum price for exporting onion at $850 per tonne.
He said the wholesalers were selling the imported variety at Tk 72 per kg now.
“We have stopped importing onion in this unstable condition of the market. The market apparently won’t be stable before the supply of new season arrives,” he said.
On Thursday, India set the minimum price of $850 per tonne for the overseas sale of onions. The order will be effective by Dec 31, according to bdnews24.com.
Moslem Mia, a wholesaler at Karwan Bazar, said on Friday the onion prices shot up by Tk 10 per kg in a day.