Within two weeks, onion prices have shaken consumers' pockets. The staple, which sold for Tk 40 to 45 at the end of last month, is now selling for up to Tk 80. Buyers can find no logical reason for the rise. The commerce minister himself says the country has 5 lakh tonnes of onions in stock, enough to meet demand for the next three months.

It is not just onions: rice, lentils, sugar, edible oil and several other essentials are also rising in price, again and again in a short space of time. The state-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) said in a report that prices of essential goods had risen by about 19.64 percent in a month, and claimed prices had never before been seen to rise so much within a month.

The question is why prices are rising when three months' worth of onions is in stock. In mid-September onions cost at most Tk 50 a kg; for the past two weeks they have not been available for less than Tk 70 to 80. The commerce secretary has, however, given assurance that onion prices will not rise further for now. The commerce ministry has also asked the NBR to withdraw the duty on onions.

On Monday, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi and Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh spoke about prices of essentials at a meeting aimed at keeping stocks, supply, imports and prices normal and stable.

Joining the meeting in the ministry's conference room virtually, the commerce minister told reporters: "At this moment our country has 5 lakh tonnes of onions in stock, which can last for the next two and a half to three months."

Saying every effort was being made to keep prices of onions and other essentials bearable, the minister said: "We are trying from all sides to keep onion prices under control. Until we become self-sufficient, we will sometimes face price crises."

The commerce minister and secretary could not say when onion prices might come down to a bearable level. At another event, however, Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur Razzaque said onion prices would fall within 15 to 20 days.

Golam Rahman, president of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB), told Dhaka Times: "Prices of onions and other essentials really are rising abnormally. So rather than talking, those responsible need to focus on how to control them."

The former chairman of the Anti-Corruption Commission said: "We have been speaking about prices of essentials again and again. Many feared something like this would happen with onions in particular. Onion imports from sources other than India should have been secured in advance."

Consumers struggle with onions every year. In September 2019, when India stopped exports, the country's onion market became volatile, and prices rose step by step to as much as Tk 300 a kg. The situation was brought under control that time through imports from alternative sources by the government and traders.

Explaining why onion prices nearly doubled in two weeks, the agriculture minister said onions were grown back in April and do not last this long, so farmers sell them all. Onions are perishable and there is little storage, which is why prices rise towards the end of the season.

At an event last Sunday, the agriculture minister said: "Prices will come under control 15 to 20 days from now, as soon as summer and imported onions reach the market."

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi gave somewhat different reasons for the rise. "Until we become self-sufficient, we will sometimes face price crises. Onion prices have also risen somewhat because of rain," he said.

Saying every effort was being made to bring onion prices to a bearable level, the minister said: "If onions can be brought from Myanmar as well as India, there should not be this much pressure. At least one lakh tonnes more onions have been produced this year than last year." He said price rises of the 17 products under the commerce ministry, not just onions, would be monitored.

Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh said onion production is low in September-November and new onions will reach the market in mid or late November. Noting that heavy rain in Bengaluru in India had raised prices in the market there, the secretary said traders in Bangladesh had raised onion prices under its influence: partly because of higher Indian prices and partly out of apprehension.

Asked whether the price rise was justified when three months' worth of onions was in stock, CAB chairman Golam Rahman told Dhaka Times that the minister may have been speaking from an estimate. The onions that exist are in farmers' homes, and at what price a farmer sells is his own business. So steps must be taken now to import onions from several sources in the short term before a crisis hits, and onion productivity in the country must also be raised, he said.

Source: Dhaka Times. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.