The price of onions has marked a sharp rise by Tk15 per kg in a week in the kitchen market of the capital in the wake of serious supply chain disruption due to the ongoing countrywide blockades and hartal enforced by the BNP-led 20-party opposition alliance.
Prices of onions rose as high as 42%, compared to last week's price of Tk35 per kg.
An official of the commerce ministry said: “We are a little bit worried about the price hike of onions in the harvesting time.”
However, the prices of tomatoes, potatoes, and bitter gourds are surprisingly remaining stable during the ongoing hartal and blockade, said officials.
“With the new harvest of onions, the price of onions will definitely be stable within two weeks,” hoped the commerce ministry officials.
Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Senior Commerce Secretary Hedayetullah Al Mamoon, ndc said: “We are fully aware about the matter.’’
The commerce ministry will sit with the onion traders in a day or two to discuss the matter and find the reasons behind the sudden hike of onion prices, he also said.
According to the commerce ministry, local businessmen import a total of 500,000 tonnes of onions from India, Myanmar, and China, while the remining 1.4 million tonnes of onions are produced domestically.