Onion price to come down soon: Commerce secretary

Commerce secretary Md Zafar Uddin on Tuesday said the prices of onion will come down shortly as necessary measures have been taken to check its price spiral, reports UNB.

“Now stock and supply of onion is normal in the country. Necessary measures have been taken to keep its price normal in the market,” he said at a meeting on checking the upward trend in onion price at the secretariat on Tuesday, said a PID handout.

“Several steps have already been taken to turn the prices of onion normal. TCB also has started open market sale of onion at fair price on Monday,” he said.

The secretary further said that they have sent a letter to Bangladesh Bank to reduce LC margin and interest rate in importing onion.

Besides, a letter has been sent to the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to ensure quick unloading of onion in the ports, he added.

Additional commerce secretary M Shafiqul Islam, TCB chairman major general Mohammad Hasan Jahangir, acting DG of National Consumer Rights Protection Directorate M Harun Uzzaman and representatives of Tariff Commission, NBR, Bangladesh Bank, Agriculture ministry, intelligence agencies and onion importers were present at the meeting.