Muktdesh Desk: The Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC) has recommended allowing imports to control onion prices in the domestic market.
The commission made this recommendation in a letter sent to the Commerce Secretary and Agriculture Secretary on Thursday (November 6).
The Tariff Commission said that they have reviewed the supply situation in the context of the increase in onion prices in the local market. It was found that some middlemen are trying to destabilize the market by creating an artificial crisis. At this time, the price of onion should be within 90 taka per kg, but it is being sold at over 115 taka. However, the price of onion in neighboring countries is now around 30 taka. Therefore, it has been recommended to quickly allow onion imports in a limited range.
Currently, 10 percent duty is applicable on onion imports. Since the price of onion in neighboring countries is low, there is no need to reduce this duty. If it is imported quickly, its supply and price in the local market will normalize quickly.
In this regard, Tariff Commission Chairman Mainul Khan said that some middlemen are destabilizing the market by creating an artificial crisis. Therefore, it has been recommended to quickly allow the import of onions on a limited scale.
The Tariff Commission report also said that farmers are not getting the benefit of the high price of onions. Rather, middlemen are benefiting. If the import is allowed, their influence in the market will be reduced and consumers will be able to buy onions at reasonable prices.
India is the main source of onion imports for Bangladesh. 99 percent of the total imports come from there. In addition, onions are also imported from Turkey, Pakistan, Myanmar, China and Egypt.
In the last fiscal year, the country produced 4.448 million tons of onions. However, onions are spoiled due to various reasons including storage problems. Therefore, 3.3 million tons of onions came to the market in the last fiscal year.
