Despite the arrival of 1,006 tons of onions at Chittagong port imported from Myanmar and Pakistan, it has left little impact on local onion prices.
On Tuesday, onion imported from Myanmar was sold at Tk82 per kilogram while local ones were sold at Tk85 per kg at Khatunganj wholesale market.
While visiting different kitchen markets of the port city, it was found that onion was being sold at Tk85-90 per kg, depending on the quality and variety.
Moreover, Indian onions have run out of stock at the commodity hub.
When they were available, Indian onions were last sold for Tk60-65 per kg at Khatunganj.
The consignment reached the port at a time when the country's onion market is unstable due to the Indian ban on the export of the item.
Ashaduzzaman Bulbul, deputy director at the Chittagong Plant Quarantine Station (Sea Port), said that the authorities were helping traders complete import proceedings fast, issuing the import permit (IP) and release orders without any delay.
Md Idris, general secretary of Khatunganj Hamid Ullah Market Traders' Welfare Association said: “The amount of onions being imported through Chittagong port is meager against the demand. Moreover, they are distributed across the country, which makes it even scarce in Chittagong.”
Meanwhile, state-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) is now selling the local onions at Tk30 per kg in the port city as Indian onions are out of stock.
Jamal Uddin Ahmed, regional chief of TCB Chittagong, said that the state-run corporation decided to sell essential cooking item in the port city from September 13 so that people could buy the bulb at a fair price.
The Indian government on September 14 banned exports of all types of onions to Bangladesh, citing a shortage in supply in India itself due to heavy rainfall and floods.
The domestic market drastically became unstable following the export ban as almost 90% of the imported onions would come from India.
Earlier on September 29 last year, India imposed a ban on the export of onions to Bangladesh due to a price hike of the item in its domestic market.
