Onion cheaper at Khatunganj wholesale market
Wholesale prices of Indian onion saw a downward trend at the Khatunganj wholesale hub here in the last couple of days thanks to plentiful imports from the neighbouring country.
According to wholesalers, arrival of the fresh seasonal crop from India's Nashik region in Maharashtra and adequate supply compared to the demand helped push the price down.
Wholesalers are also slashing the prices of their older stocks from Nashik region in an attempt to get rid of those before their quality deteriorated.
Onions grown in the previous season were being sold for Tk 8 to Tk 9 a kg in the last two days, down from Tk 13 to Tk 14 last week.
Prices of newly harvested imports also fell by about Tk 3 a kg within a span of a week as the new crop sold for Tk 14-Tk 15 a kg against last week's prices of Tk 17-Tk 18.
Mohammad Faruk, proprietor of wholesale firm Ira Traders at Hamidullah Mia Market in Khatunganj, said more than 30 trucks were arriving at the market every day bringing recently harvested onions while most of the wholesalers were sitting on piles of the cooking item because there were plenty of imports.
The demand for Nashik's red onion is higher in the hub while another variety named as Sukhsagar, grown in Bardhaman and Hoogly in West Bengal, is also arriving but its demand is low due to poor quality, he said.
Importers' asking price for Sukhsagar onion is Tk 9 to Tk 10 per kg but the clients are bargaining to buy them at Tk 6.
Very few Chattogram-based traders import onion and most of the wholesalers in Khatunganj are commission agents, who buy the item from importers and sell them in exchange of commission.
Jahangir Alam, proprietor of AJ Traders, a commission agent, said sales rose as clients from different parts of the country were placing orders for the fresh onion.
He said the demand for the older variety decreased noticeably.
Vendors are selling old onions at Tk 18 to Tk 22 a kg.
However, the retail price of the newly harvested ones is yet to come down: most retailers at various kitchen markets are selling the item at Tk 25 to Tk 26 a kg.
Sadek Ullah, a retailer at Karnaphuli Kitchen Market, said he bought the newly imported onion at Tk 19 per kg last week and sold them for Tk 25.
