Onion prices rise again, up to Tk 180 a kg this time in Dhaka

After a drop following imports and arrival of new produces, onion prices have shot up again in Dhaka.

Retailers were charging up to Tk 180 for a kg of the kitchen staple on Friday after the maximum prices remained between Tk 100 and Tk 110 over the past week.

Traders have blamed a supply squeeze due to sudden winter rains from Thursday night for the hike in onion prices in a day.

Almas Hossain, a grocer in Mirpur’s Pirerbagh, said he was selling new local produces at up to Tk 120 a kg two days ago.

“But I had to buy at Tk 160 per kg from the wholesalers in the morning. So I can’t charge less than Tk 180,” he said.

Onions imported from China and Egypt priced between Tk 45 and Tk 55 a kg last week, but the prices rose to Tk 70 on Friday.

The latest onion price hike has hit the residents of Dhaka a day after Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi in a meeting demanded an explanation for onion price hike from businesses before warning them against spiking commodity prices during the Ramadan.

Onion consumption rises in Bangladesh during Ramadan, which will start in the second half of April, due to the use of the kitchen staple in most Iftar items.

The country usually needs 200,000 tonnes of extra onion in the month, according to Munshi, who said the government was preparing to meet the demand by bolstering import.

Experts have also advised the government to monitor the prices of edible oil and sugar ahead of Ramadan following the onion price hike.

Over the past week, the prices of all kinds of soybean and palm oil have risen by at least Tk 5 per litre.

The prices of sugar have also increased by the same amount per kg.

Traders have attributed the rise to a price hike in the global market.