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4 years ago

First consignment of onion arrives via airways

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The first consignment of onion via airways has been airlifted to Bangladesh as the government grapples to quell skyrocketing prices.

A cargo plane hauling the consignment of 82 tonnes of onion touched down at Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at 7:15pm on Wednesday, AHM Touhid-ul Ahsan, a director of the Civil Aviation Authority, Bangladesh for the airport, said.

Saad International brought the onion from Karachi by an Azerbaijan-based Silk Way Airlines plane, Dhaka Customs House Assistant Commissioner Sazzad Hossain said, reports bdnews24.com.

Onion prices have continued to surge since Sept 29 when India banned exports to control domestic prices, prompting the government to take several measures to tame the spiralling price.

Prices rose to Tk 180 a kg, which is a Tk 30 jump in two days, after Cyclone Bulbul that struck the coastline on Nov 9 squeezed supplies. The prices continued to rise and hovered around Tk 250, a record in Bangladesh, over the weekend.

To deal with the situation, the government decided to import onions from Egypt, Turkey, China and other countries.

It later decided to import onion through airways for faster shipments.

The government has also decided to waive cargo handling charges on onion imports on the flights of flag carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines.

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