TCB onion now available online
While facing an uphill battle to tame the skyrocketing price of onion at local markets, the federal government has put its faith in e-commerce to revive normalcy in the demand and offer of your kitchen staple.
Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi yesterday launched the sale of onion of the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) preliminarily through five online retail platforms at Tk 36 per kilogramme (kg), way less than the rates currently trending in the markets.
For the moment, consumers will get three kgs against each order put in Dhaka or Chattogram in a bid to discourage stockpiling.
Gradually both quantity and areas from where orders could be made will be expanded, he said.
The five platforms -- Chaldal, Swapno Online, Sindabad, Sobjibazar and Jachai -- have previously started selling the TCB onion while three others will inevitably follow suit.
Prices shot up between Tk 100 and Tk 120 per kg the other day after India announced halting onion export to Bangladesh. Only a week earlier it had been Tk 40 and Tk 50 per kg.
This new avenue will allow customers from in the united states to avail quality at affordable prices from their local markets, the minister said while inaugurating the undertake a virtual meeting featuring the owners of various e-commerce platforms.
The TCB retails the highly consumed vegetable through its Open Market Sale (OMS) programme, which mainly is aimed at providing food at affordable charges for the country's lower-income bracket.
Beneath the programme, onion is being sold at numerous spots on the backs of trucks.
People of the low-income earners generally usually do not own smartphones and for that reason, purchasing onion via online platforms has gone out of the question for them.
Alternatively, consumers who cannot find enough time to get onion from the TCB trucks but own smartphones can easily buy the product from the comfort of their homes, Munshi said in a statement.
The idea of selling TCB onion online is a comparatively new one therefore, a few challenges could arise.
"But we will have to push forward and fix those problems. Onions aren't something to worry about as the country comes with an adequate stock of the kitchen staple," he added.
In line with the commerce minister, India has agreed to export 25,000 tonnes of onion to Bangladesh while another 10,000-tonne shipment is also expected.
Last week, prices increased exponentially following India's decision to prevent onion exports to Bangladesh. Munshi then blamed a section of unscrupulous traders and panic buying for the sudden price hike.
Prices eventually began to decline after news broke that India would resume shipping onion to Bangladesh on trucks, which were and are entering the united states gradually.
Mainul Islam, port manager of the Sonamasjid-Panama Port Link, said although a complete of eight onion laden trucks entered Bangladesh through the land port at Mahadipur on Saturday, their passage was in the end halted on Sunday.
Babul Hasanat Durul, an onion importer, said India stopped sending onion through the Sonamasjid land port.
Besides, the Mohdipur land port customs authority didn't get any order on Sunday from the ministry worried about the onion import so the trucks there continued to be left stranded.
