Onion prices at Hili in Dinajpur have risen by Tk 5-10 a kg in a week. Onions that sold for Tk 35 a kg a week ago now fetch Tk 40-45 depending on quality. Supply is somewhat thinner, though every shop still has onions.
Onion seller Rezaul Islam said he now has to buy at Tk 40 the onions he sold for Tk 35-40 last week, so he sells at Tk 45. Several days of bad weather and rain have kept farmers from bringing onions to market, he said, cutting supply. Other retailers point to higher fuel prices and wholesale rates and say prices will ease when supply picks up.
Shopper Ruhul Amin said onions he used to buy for Tk 35 now cost Tk 40 for lower grades and Tk 45 for better ones, so he buys less. "We are day labourers who live hand to mouth. How will we survive if prices keep rising?" said another buyer, Abdul Majid.
Borhan Uddin, assistant director of the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection in Dinajpur, said regular market drives are under way, traders' purchase and sale receipts are being checked, and anyone found overcharging is fined.
The report was filed by Bangla Tribune's Hili correspondent.
Photo: Salim_Khandoker / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Source: Bangla Tribune
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