Onion price soars at Hili owing to short supply

Wholesale traders have hiked the onion price by Tk 10-11 per kg in Dinajpur on the excuse of short supply following the closure of Hili port for eight days on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha.

The imported onion was selling at Tk 31-32 per kilogramme, which was Tk 20-22 before the Eid after the export-import activities resumed at the port on Sunday.

Wholesale trader Morshedur Rahman said 23 trucks with 500 metric tonnes of onion entered the country from India on Sunday.

“Indian onion supply through the port remained suspended for eight days. So, traders from different parts of the country throng the port to buy onion, which has shot up the price.”

He also feared that the onion price might see another hike in a week as flood damaged crops in India, according to UNB.

Onion trader Shahidul Islam, hailing from Rangpur, said it costs Tk 35 per kg of onion with transport cost. “I’ll have to sell onion at least at Tk 36-Tk 37 a kg to avoid losses.”

Abdur Rahman Liton, general secretary of Hili Customs C&F Agents’ Association, said the export-import activities at the port resumed on Sunday after eight days.

Meanwhile, retailers at Bangla Hili Bazar said they were selling previously imported onion at Tk 28-Tk 30.