Onion prices hold steady
Onion prices remained regular regardless of the government's decision to impose a good 5 per cent tariff on imports of the main element cooking ingredient to inspire local manufacturers and reduce import dependency.
This production comes as a relief to consumers as the kitchen staple saw volatile changes in market price over the past couple of months because of supply shortages.
With the brand new customs duty already in place, the retail selling price of imported onion rose by Tk 1.34 to Tk 30-35 per kilogram (kg) as of yesterday. Weekly earlier, the purchase price per kg was Tk 25-40, in line with the Trading Company of Bangladesh (TCB).
On the other hand, the TCB data confirmed that the average price tag of the imported bulbs features remained relatively stable at Tk 32.5 per kg. The price of locally cultivated onion was likewise steady.
"There's been no influence on onion prices and this is unlikely to change," said Mohammad Mazed, standard secretary of Shyambazar Onion Samity, an association of onion wholesalers.
At the wholesale marketplaces, imported onion was sold at Tk 25-26 per kg yesterday, up from Tk 23-24 weekly earlier, said dealers at Shyambzar, one of the country's biggest wholesale markets for kitchen products.
Financing Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal announced the brand new taxes during his price range proposal for fiscal 2020-21 last week.
"Plenty of onion is certainly cultivated locally but with zero duty in imported bulbs, domestic farmers will be deprived of good market prices considering the production costs," he said.
Onion production found in Bangladesh increased 14 per cent after 2.37 lakh hectares of territory were added for cultivation in the just-concluded time of year.
The farmers were inspired to expand their businesses after witnessing a drastic upsurge in the price of onion due to a supply shortage that stemmed from an export ban by India, Bangladesh's primary import source for your kitchen staple.
After the ban started out in September this past year, locally produced onion rates escalated to an archive most of Tk 250 per kilogram, forcing many consumers to slice the well-known item from their diets.
Bangladesh's twelve-monthly onion production ability has been steady in 17-18 lakh tonnes going back three years but a further 11 lakh tonnes had to be imported each year during that time as well to meet the source deficit, according to data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).
Imports declined 33 % year-on-year to 8 lakh tonnes in the first 9 months of the ongoing fiscal yr, the BBS info showed.
India withdrew its export ban found in March this season but bilateral trade with Bangladesh through land ports found halt on the 3rd week of the same month as the neighbouring nation went into lockdown to contain the deadly coronavirus.
However, trade through almost all of the territory ports, specifically Benapole, resumed last week.
And so, trucks loaded with onions started arriving through the Benapole interface, the country's most active land port.
However, Bhomra, among the key ports for goods via India, remains idle, stated Dipankar Ghosh, a clearing and forwarding agent.
The cost of onion has remained practically the same despite the fact that import costs increased by Tk 1.30-Tk1.40 per kg which would benefit the overall economy.
"The federal government will earn some earnings through this measure."
However, you will see little effect on the cost of onion when there is satisfactory supply from India.
"Onions certainly are a perishable commodity and the costs mainly rely upon the source and demand, not tariffs. Therefore, prices drop when supply raises and vice-versa," Ghosh added.
Meanwhile, Aminul Islam, a wholesaler of locally grown onions found in Pabna, a major growing district, said the cost of domestically produced bulbs possesses edged up simply marginally.
Farmers harvested 10 per cent -- or perhaps 25.57 lakh tonnes -- more onions in the outgoing fiscal year. A yr earlier, it had been 23.3 lakh tonnes, regarding to data from the Section of Agricultural Extension.
