The prices of onions have nearly doubled in Dinajpur, Khulna and other parts of Bangladesh shortly after India banned its export till March 31 next year.
The ban was effective on Friday afternoon and market scenario changed within 12 hours.
In Dinajpur, the sudden surge in onion prices has reached a point where it is now beyond the means of the average person.
Local onions are currently fetching between Tk180 to Tk200 per kg, while Indian onions are priced at Tk160 to Tk180 per kg.
Just a day ago, local onions were available at a rate of Tk90 to Tk110 per kg.
Even new onions are now being sold in the market at a steep price range of Tk150 to Tk160 per kg.
In Khulna, the prices of onions have increased by Tk50–60 per kg.
Zahidul Islam, a government employee, said he came to a market after learning about the export ban and paid Tk 150 for per kilogram of onion.
Shahidul Islam, an onion trader, said the price of imported onion is higher as the importers imported onion at high price. However, the recent announcement of India restricting export also makd the onion market unstable.
He hoped that when the local variety onions will come to market in 15 days, the prices of onion will drop.
A large area of onion fields has been devastated by the recent rains, according to Rakib Mia, another onion trader and this will have an effect on the price.
India banned the export of onions to other countries effective Friday, said a notification issued by the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Friday.
On August 20, the Revenue Department of the Indian Finance Ministry imposed a 40% duty on onion exports to Bangladesh, causing a hike in the price of the item mainly used as spice in local markets.
Later, the Indian government set a Minimum Export Price (MEP) of $800 per ton on a free-on-board basis for the export of onions with effect from October 29.
Our correspondent Faruk Hossain from Dinajpur contributed to this report
