Imports and exports through Hili land port in Dinajpur resumed on Sunday after a six-day closure for Durga Puja, and with them the import of onions from India.

Since imports resumed, the price of onions has fallen by Tk 12 a kg. Before the closure, onions sold at the port for Tk 48 to 50 a kg; now they are selling for Tk 36 to 38. Wholesalers at the port are pleased with the fall.

Mirajul Islam and Siraj Uddin, who came to buy onions at Hili port, told Bangla Tribune that before the puja closure they had bought onions from the port at Tk 45 to 50 a kg. Prices fell once imports through the port resumed after the closure, which has helped them a great deal.

Hili port importer Mahfuzar Rahman and onion trader Rabiul Islam said onion imports through the port restarted after the Durga Puja holiday, and the increased supply in the domestic market has begun to push prices down.

They said the main reason for the fall is the government's withdrawal of the import duty, which has cut about Tk 2 a kg in duty. On top of that, plenty of onions are being imported from Myanmar at comparatively low prices, and there is demand for them in the market. Local onions have fallen to Tk 45 to 50. New leaf onions will soon come to market, and prices will fall further then, they said.

Hili land port public relations officer Sohrab Hossain told Bangla Tribune that after being closed for six straight days, from 11 to 16 October, for Durga Puja, imports and exports through the port resumed on Sunday. Along with other goods, onions are being imported through the port; on Sunday, 474 tonnes of onions arrived on 17 trucks.

Source: Bangla Tribune. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.