Thursday | 9 January 2025 | Reg No- 06
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Thursday | 9 January 2025 | Epaper

Onion syndicates pocket Tk 150cr in 3 days

Published : Tuesday, 12 December, 2023 at 12:00 AM  Count : 641
Mizanur Rahman
A number of onion syndicates have grabbed Tk 150 crore by increasing the price of onion across the country. The administration has started collecting intelligence information to take action against these syndicates. The administration is said to have received the names of dozens of businessmen of the onion syndicate. Meanwhile, on Monday, the administration has given instructions to the businessmen to give the address of the warehouse or warehouses.

Several syndicates spread rumours that if India stops exporting onion, the price of onion in the country will rise to Tk 300 per kg. After that, the competition to hike onion price started. The price of onion is increasing hour by hour. Such a situation has arisen due to the complaints of the concerned parties - the manipulation of importers and dealers. Onion prices have increased from Tk 100 to Tk 200 per kg overnight.

According to sources, India will not export onion till March - based on the news, a list is being prepared of those who have made Tk 150 crore by selling onions at high prices in the last three days. Information is being collected on how much onion was imported from India. Again, a list is being made of some traders who have sold onion at excessive profit in the retail market.

In Dhaka, good quality onion imported from India are being sold at Tk 240 to Tk 250 per kg. A slightly lower quality Indian onion is being sold at Tk 220 to Tk 230. Onion is being sold at a price of more than Tk 250 in different areas of the country. Although the price of onion has increased several times in various upazilas.

Stakeholders said that the price of onion is increasing due to the joint manipulation of importers and traders.

On Friday afternoon, the Indian government announced a ban on onion exports. But onion in the pipeline against previous LCs are coming to the country. Onion price more than doubled on news of the export ban. But there is no reason to increase the price of onion. Based on the news of price increased. The importers have increased the price before the import. The importers and dealers have made a profit of Tk 150 crore in two days by manipulating the prices. It made a profit of more than Tk 120 per kg. Two days ago, the price of onion imported from India was Tk 100 to Tk 110 per kg. On Monday, onion was  sold at Tk 260 to Tk 270 per kg.

According to the traders, there is no onion shortage in the country yet. Large stocks of imported and domestically produced onion is kept in various warehouses. Thus increasing the price and disappearance of onion from the market is unusual and manipulative. Some influential businessmen in Chattogram are involved in the manipulation of the onion market.

According to traders, currently the demand for onion in the country is around 36 lakh tonnes per annum. But according to the government, a little more than 25 lakh tonnes of onion rot in storage.

According to that, an average of 90 to 98 lakh kg of onion is traded in the countrys market every day. It has been seen that in the last three nights, at various stages, the syndicate circle has grabbed a total of Tk 150 crore, making an average of Tk 50 crore every day.

Several traders of Kawran Bazar Kitchen market, said the announcement of Indias export ban created a disorganized situation in the market. Traders removed onion from all retail and wholesale outlets within half an hour of the spreading of the news around 4:00pm on Friday. After that, news of price increase started coming from different places. Then many traders started selling the item at higher prices.

Ordinary buyers also rushed to buy onion. As a result, the price of onion increased from Tk 70 to Tk 80 per kg by 9:00pm. On Saturday, Sunday and Monday there were rounds of price increase.

Chattogram Deputy Commissioner Abul Basar Mohammad Fakhruzzaman said, "Traders should give the specific address of their warehouse or warehouses. The amount of goods in stock should also be disclosed. These documents should be submitted to us. If the goods are found in any warehouse or shed outside of this, they will be fined or even jailed.

Meanwhile, the National Directorate of Consumer Protection has conducted operations at all divisions and district levels of the country including Dhaka metropolis to keep onion prices stable and supply normal.

On Sunday, 4 teams of the Directorate conducted market operations in Dhaka city. Besides, this campaign was conducted simultaneously in all 40 districts of the country including other divisional cities.

In this, 43 teams across the country fined 80 companies a total of Tk 370,500. On Monday too, 133 establishments had been fined for increasing the price of onion.

In response to the surge in onion prices in the market, the countrys apex trade body FBCCI President Mahbubul Alam, has advocated for the import of onion from alternative markets if necessary to stabilise supply chain and price.

He said onion import from alternative markets could be considered to maintain a reasonable price for onion and ensure the smooth functioning of the essential commodities supply chain, according to a press release.

To address the ongoing crisis, Mahbubul assured that the FBCCI will provide full support to the businesses involved in importing daily essentials, including onion, from various countries.

He emphasised the importance of selling these products at a fair price and urged traders to refrain from artificially inflating onion prices.

Mahbubul stressed on the necessity of onion for people ranging from the lower class to the upper class.

Those who are causing hardships for personal gains do not represent the true spirit of the business community, he added.

In this situation, the government is insisting on importing onion from alternative countries to control the market. Apart from this, ongoing operations against dishonest traders will also be continued.

Commerce Ministry officials say that after Indias announcement, the price of onion would suddenly increase so much that it was not even thought of. Traders have done this through manipulation. Imports from alternative countries are being emphasized to keep prices under control.

An official of the Ministry said, on condition of anonymity, "I did not think that the price of onion would suddenly increase so much." Profiteers did it," he added.

He said, "Now we are emphasizing on importing onion from different sources. But it will take some time."
According to the information of the Department of Agriculture Extension, even though the country produces more than 3.4 million tonnes of onion per year, about 25 per cent of the total onion produced are lost during the time of picking onions from the land, then during storage and transportation.

According to this, 6 to 7 lakh tonnes of onions are wasted out of 34 lakh tonnes. That is, the local net production of onion stands at 26 to 27 lakh tonnes. On the other hand, according to the information of the Ministry of Commerce, the annual demand of onion in the country is 27 to 28 lakh tonnes. Of this, 2 lakh tonnes are required every month, and an additional 3 to 4 lakh tonnes of onions are required during the month of fasting.

Meanwhile, 7 lakh tonnes of onion have been imported in the fiscal year 2022-23 from some countries including India and Myanmar. If we add 26 to 27 lakh tonnes of domestically produced onions and 7 lakh tonnes of imported onion, the total supply of onions in the countrys market is 33 to 34 lakh tonnes. And if the total annual demand is 27-28 lakh tonnes, there is a surplus of 6 to 7 lakh tonnes of onion in the country over the demand. So there is no shortage of onion in the countrys markets.



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