The Ministry of Commerce has sent a letter to the Ministry of Agriculture to continue the permission to import onions till the upcoming holy Eid-ul-Fitr. To import onions, one has to get permission from the Ministry of Agriculture, this is called Import Permit, abbreviated as IP. The letter was sent by the Ministry of Commerce on Sunday (27 March).
In a letter to the Secretary of Agriculture, the Ministry of Commerce said that the last date for issuing IP for onions is 29 March (Tuesday). Market prices have been more stable in recent times as IPs continue to be issued. If the IP is not issued after Tuesday, there is a danger that the onion market will become unstable again.
On the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan, in order to maintain the speed of supply of onions, it was mentioned in the letter that IP should be issued till Eid-ul-Fitr. Out of the demand of 25 lac tonnes of onions per year, the demand for the month of Ramadan is 4 to 4.5 lac tonnes. Between six to seven lac tonnes have to be imported, not accounting for the loss of storage and processing.
India is one of the world’s leading onion exporters. As an alternative market for India, Bangladesh tries to import onions from Egypt, Turkey, China, Pakistan, Myanmar, and other countries. About 95% of the onions imported to Bangladesh come from India.
According to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) on Sunday, onion prices are falling in Dhaka’s markets. Local onions are being sold at Tk 30 to 40 per kg. And imported onions are being sold at Tk 25 to 35 per kg. Compared to a week ago, it is 17% to 25% percent less.
