Big shipments of onion arriving through cargo aircraft, ships

Ministry of Commerce says

Published: November 15, 2019 19:22:17 | Updated: November 16, 2019 09:57:23

Big shipments of onion will arrive in the country within a short time by cargo aircraft and ships to ensure sufficient supply in local market amid the skyrocketing price hike of the essential cooking ingredient.

The Ministry of Commerce gave the information on Friday through a press release, reports BSS

The ministry informed that the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) is importing onion from Turkey through cargo planes.

"Meanwhile, S Alam Group will import onion from Egypt and many other companies from Afghanistan and the United Arab Emirates. All procedures have already been completed,” said the press release.

Besides, it said, a big shipment of onion will arrive in Bangladesh soon through the sea route.

The ministry also informed that due to the recent cyclone Bulbul, there was a problem for several days in onion transport in various places, including Teknaf Land Port and Chittagong seaport.

The Ministry of Commerce has taken immediate steps to address this situation and it is expected that the prices will return to the normal position.

The release also said that the country’s intelligence and law enforcement agencies are active in this regard.

According to the law enforcement agencies, strict action will be taken against anyone who stocks onion illegally for making huge profits. Several teams from the Ministry of Commerce are working to monitor the market.

The National Consumer Rights Protection Directorate (NCRPD) has also launched a campaign. Besides, domestic onion from different places of the country have started coming to market.

Normally, onion is imported from India due to low cost and easy transportation. Due to floods in Maharashtra and other areas of India, onion yields have been greatly affected.

As a result, India fixed the minimum export price (MEP) per metric tonne of onion for export a few days ago.

On September 26, the Indian authorities banned onion export. As an alternative, Bangladesh has started importing onion from Myanmar through LC and Border Trade. Onion imports were also started from Egypt and Turkey through LC.

Onion prices have increased recently in Myanmar too. As a result, the impact of onion price in Myanmar has also fallen on the Bangladeshi market.