DHAKA: Bangladeshi importers of Indian onion will now be able to save around Tk 12,500 per tonne. Prices of the cooking ingredient shot up to Tk 120 per kg in December after India raised the minimum export price to $850 per tonne from $430 in November. On Friday, the commerce ministry of India set the new floor price for exporting onion, effective until Feb 20, following the boost in supply in the local market.
This decision by India will comfort the traders in both countries. Now, we will be able to save $150 to open LCs. The consumers will be benefitted,” Harunur Rashid, president of Importer-Exporter Group at Hili Land Port, said. According to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh, the imported onion was sold from Tk 60 to 70 per kg in Dhaka on Sunday. By the end of July, onion prices doubled from Tk 25 to Tk 50 a kg. Imports from India, Egypt and other exporters could not make any impact on the market to push the price down. The Consumers Association of Bangladesh or CAB blamed ‘market manipulation’ for the hike in onion price earlier.
