50,000 tonnes of onion to arrive from India this week: Minister

State minister for commerce Ahasanul Islam Titu on Saturday said 50,000 tonnes of onion will arrive from India this week and the onion price will remain under control.

Besides, edible oil will be sold for Tk 163 a litre at retail markets in a day or two, he said.

The state minister made the remarks while speaking to journalists after attending an event organised by women entrepreneurs at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) in Dhaka.

Ahasanul Islam said he held bilateral talks with Indian commerce minister Piyush Goyal on the side-line of the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. During their meeting, the Indian commerce minister informed him that he ordered to issue a letter on the export of 50,000 tonnes of onion to Bangladesh.

The state minister said they received this letter yesterday, Friday and the onion will start arriving this week.

Earlier on 20 February, the government decided to decrease the price of soybean oil by Tk 10 to Tk 163 a litre, effective from 1 March.

The state minister said, “Millers started supplying edible oil at Tk 163 a litre from 1 March and, this oil will reach the retail markets in a day or two. We have also started monitoring the mills to control the price.”

He further said the government is working to check the additional prices ahead of Ramadan, and prices will fall rationally. The government will not be hostage to anyone for commodity prices. Besides, if there is any problem with the import of goods and their release, it will be solved. No excuse will be accepted, he added.