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Customs intelligence started interrogating onion importers on Monday to investigate the mismatch between import and domestic prices while cracking down on hoarding.
The Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID) interrogated 10 importers in the first phase, officials said.
The intelligence agency will sit with some 47 onion importers in phases at its central office. It sent letters to all of these importers on November 19.
The intelligence team has sorted out the onion importers who imported over 1,000 tonnes from August 01 to November 18, 2019.
Some 168,806 tonnes of onions were imported in that period.
Talking to reporters, CIID director general Md Shahidul Islam said his team quizzed the importers to examine the stock of onion, cost of import and its local market prices.
"We've launched the action to help the government control the volatile onion market," he said.
The agency has started holding a hearing with the importers obtaining permission from the National Board of Revenue high-ups, he added.
Of these importers, one importer imported highest 9,020 tonnes of onion alone in the last three months.
He said the CIID sent letters to 13 importers for quizzing Monday. Of them, some 10 importers came from Chapainawabganj.
Mr Islam said they singled out the importers from August when prices started shooting up, even before India slapped ban on onion exports. Indian ban was enforced on September 29, 2019.
Asked whether such a hearing would scare away onion importers, the CIID head said they have conducted the quizzing in a cordial atmosphere.
"We are just preparing a data-base and trying to stop selling onion at higher prices compared with import costs," he added.
The 10 importers are, Phool Mohammad Traders, Akota Shassa Bhander, Sazzad Enterprise, Jagodish Chandra Roy, Sumaiya Enterprise, Noor Enterprise, R.M Agro, T.M Enterprise, B.H Trading and Co, and Dipa Enterprise.
Talking to the reporters, one importer Abdul Awal, who was present, denied he was involved in hoarding.
He blamed the retailers for manipulating prices.
In the letter to the importers, the CIID brought allegations against their involvement in illegal hoarding to create artificial crisis in the market
"Through secret sources, we have also got allegations of money laundering," it wrote to the importers.
The CIID has sent a prescribed form to each of the importers for furnishing information, including the volume of import, quantity, sales amount, sales prices, names and addresses of buyers and volume of remaining stock.
The CIID said the information is needed to investigate the allegations of money laundering.
However, according to the customs law there is no provision for taking punitive action against the importers for selling onion at prices higher than the import cost or for hoarding of imported products.
Meanwhile, the prices of onion maintained their previous high in the market, despite the arrival of imported variety and the government's ongoing efforts to control its soaring prices.
The local variety of onion was selling at Tk 240-250 a kilogramme while the imported ones from Myanmar, Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt and China were traded at Tk 170-Tk 180 a kg and Tk 140- Tk 150 a kg respectively at the retail level.
Visiting the Shyambazar wholesale market on Monday, the FE correspondent found that local onion was selling at Tk 200-Tk 210 a kg, depending on its quality and other varieties imported from Egypt, China, Pakistan and Myanmar at Tk 145-Tk 170 per kg.
The prices of onion have increased by a maximum of Tk 40 per kilogramme in the city's retail market over the last couple of days.
Traders at Shyambazar market blamed insufficient supply of onion for the eye-watering prices that have persisted for the past few months.
They expressed the hope that the prices will come down when new variety arrives in the market.
"The prices of onion will come down once the local variety hits the markets," Nuru Mia of Bhai Bhabi Banijalaya at Shyambazar told the FE.
Consumers blamed that a section of profit-mongering traders has pushed up the prices of local variety, cashing in on its short supply in the market.
The TCB is now selling imported onion at subsidised Tk 45 a kg.
Some consumers expressed utter frustrations as they did not find any TCB's designated truck for purchasing onion in front of Bangladesh Bank until around 1:00 pm on Monday.
"I wanted to purchase onion from TCB truck. But could not purchase as there was no truck in front of Bangladesh Bank," Abdul Karim, a private service holder told the FE in front of the central bank until at around 1:00 pm on the day.
Apart from the government efforts, private firms like S Alam and City Group are now importing onion to boost supplies.