The Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC) on Monday urged the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to lift all import tariffs on onion until December 31 this year as its domestic prices spiked after India slapped 40% export duty on the vegetable.
In a letter to the National Board of Revenue (NBR), the BTTC said the prices of Indian onions may rise to $400-$420 a tonne from $280-$300 after the imposition of the new export duty by New Delhi.
It said onion traders are required to pay a total of 10% import tax, including 5% customs duty, to bring in the bulb and the import demand of the perishable item rises in the August-January period every year owing to the gradual depletion of the domestic variety.
The onion prices are likely to get affected by the imposition of the Indian export duty, the BTTC letter said signed by its Deputy Chief for Trade Policy Md Mahmodul Hasan.
Under these circumstances, the import tariff can be waived and the private sector along with the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) can be encouraged to bring in onions from Myanmar, Turkey and Egypt, the letter also read.
The tariff commission said Bangladesh can meet up to 75% of its requirement through local production of onions and the country imports the rest, particularly from India.
Locally grown onions on Monday retailed at prices up to Tk90 per kg in Dhaka, which was Tk85 on August 19 when India slapped the export duty.
Prices of imported onions grew at a faster pace over the last two days.
Consumers had to buy a kg of imported onion at as much as Tk70 in the capital, up nearly 17% from Tk60 on August 19, according to the market prices data compiled by the TCB.