‘Govt plans to import onion from India soon’

Agriculture Minister Dr M Abdur Razzaque stated on Sunday that the government plans to import onion from India soon as the price of the item more than doubles in a month to Taka 80 per kilogram.

“The government has a plan to import onion from India as the decision will be taken shortly if the price of the essentials would not come under control at the local market”, he told the journalists while talking about onion import at his ministry office, reports BSS.

The price of the kitchen item would not climb above Taka 45 per kg, according to the minister, who added that “the price of the item is likely to reduce to Taka 45 if the import takes place.”

According to data compiled by the Trading Corporation Bangladesh (TCB), the retail price of a kilogram of onion is currently Taka 80, up from Taka 50 last week and Taka 30 a month ago.

The agriculture minister criticized the role of some unethical dealers, claiming that they did not preserve commodity stability. Despite the fact that the country had enough onion output last year, a large volume of onions rotted due to unethical hoarding of these commodities at their godowns, he informed journalists.

Meanwhile, the commerce ministry has already asked authorization from the agriculture ministry to import onions, citing the commodity’s outrageous price increase in the last few days.

On Sunday, a letter signed by Shamima Akhter, joint controller of the Ministry of Commerce, was delivered to the relevant person at the Agriculture Ministry.

“The price of the essentials has been increasing continuously at the retail level…so, the country needs to take initiative for raising supply of the commodity at the local markets for making the onion price stable”, the letter elaborated.

This article has been posted by a News Hour Correspondent. For queries, please contact through [email protected]
No Comments