Onion prices keep climbing, doubling in a week and making the market for this everyday staple increasingly unstable. Buyers are struggling. Onions are dearer because they are being brought from India at higher prices and imports are low compared with demand.

Salim Ullah, an importer at the Mohammadpur Krishi Market, said onions change hands four times between the port and the retail market, and traders' attempts to make excessive profits are also pushing prices up. Other importers claimed that imported onions are dearer because supply of local onions is low.

This picture emerged from visits to the Mohammadpur Krishi Market, Town Hall market and Karwan Bazar in the capital. Most vegetables have become cheaper. Small winter cabbages and cauliflowers sell for Tk 50 a piece, bitter gourd for Tk 60 a kg, Indian tomatoes for Tk 140 to Tk 170, flat beans for Tk 80, yardlong beans for Tk 80, ash gourd for Tk 40 a piece, bottle gourd for Tk 50 to Tk 60 a piece depending on size, okra for Tk 60, taro stolons for Tk 60 and spiny gourd for Tk 60.

Vegetable sellers Kailash and Shekhar said some vegetables had fallen by Tk 5 to Tk 7 a kg while others had risen by Tk 5 to Tk 10. Vegetable prices will start falling once the winter season begins, they said.

Local hybrid onions sell for Tk 85 a kg and Indian onions for Tk 70 to Tk 75. Green chillies have got cheaper at Tk 160 a kg. Chinese ginger is Tk 160 a kg, and turmeric Tk 160 to Tk 220. Indian lentils sell for Tk 90 a kg and local lentils for Tk 110. Sugar is Tk 90 to Tk 100, and edible oil is selling at its previous price.

Miniket rice sells for Tk 65 a kg, BRRI dhan28 (aatash) rice for Tk 50 and Nazirshail for Tk 68. Brown eggs are Tk 110 a dozen, duck eggs Tk 165 a dozen and Sonali (cock) chicken eggs Tk 155 a dozen.

Broiler chicken has risen again by Tk 5 a kg to Tk 175. Sonali (cock) chicken is up Tk 30 a kg at Tk 320, against Tk 290 last week. Layer chicken is unchanged at Tk 230 a kg.

Source: Amader Shomoy. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.