Onion price falls by Tk 30 per kg in Dhaka

The retail price of onions has dipped by at least Tk 30 at the kitchen markets in Dhaka, following a sudden price fall at the production level.

There was a sticky uptick in the onion price even before Ramadan, which prompted the authorities to take a special initiative to keep the market under control through imports of Indian varieties.

It was learned through conversations with traders at Malibagh, Moghbazar, Karwan Bazar, and Shyambazar kitchen markets in Dhaka that the supply of onions is now abundant as the Hali variety of onion has recently started hitting the markets.

It dragged down the wholesale price of the cooking ingredient to Tk 45-55 per kg and the retail price to Tk 60-70 per kg, while a slight bargaining may lead to further price cuts. If one purchases five kgs of onions from prominent wholesale markets like Karwan Bazar, each kg now costs Tk 55 only.

Around a week ago, the onion price was Tk 90 to 100 per kg at retail markets in Dhaka. A retailer, Shafiqul Islam, told Prothom Alo that the farmers started harvesting the Hali variety earlier on reports of onion imports from India. It scaled up the supply and brought down the price in the markets.

A majority of the onions produced in Bangladesh are Hali variety and it usually hits the market in March. There is another variety of onion called Muricata that usually sees a lower yield and comes to the market earlier in small quantities.

Narayan Saha, an onion trader and importer at Shyambazar in Dhaka, said the Hali variety came to the market in time and it impacted the price positively. So, there is no need to import the cooking ingredient now, to safeguard the local farmers.

Some farmers and wholesalers said an unscrupulous group of traders hoarded onions with the expectation of getting higher prices in Ramadan. Those onions are now entering the markets from their stocks and the new variety is also hitting the markets. It surged the supply and led to the price fall.