Onion prices will come down soon: PM Hasina

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said the onion market will return to normal within the next couple of days.

The assurance came from her media briefing on her participation in the 18th summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Azerbaijan, in Dhaka on Tuesday.

The prime minister said a huge quantity of onion is being imported. “There’s nothing to worry about.”

“What will happen if you don’t eat onion?” Hasina said jokingly.

To cool down the market, the government has already imported 10,000 tonnes of onion and plans to purchase about 50,000 tonnes of onion from abroad, according to the prime minister.

Around a month back, India indefinitely banned the export of onions, triggering price hike in Bangladesh that depends partly on the neighbouring country for the cooking ingredient.

Onion prices rose by Tk 30 to Tk 100 per kg, prompting the government to intervene in the market. The government started importing onion from Myanmar, Egypt and Turkey. Prices dropped slightly after the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh started open market sales, but now the price increased to Tk 120 a kg.

Bangladesh produces 1 million to 1.1 million tonnes onion annually and imports the rest to meet the domestic demand which is around 2.4 million.