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Onion prices shot past Tk 200 per kg in Dhaka on Saturday, a day after the Indian authorities announced an extension of its export ban on the condiment essential to South Asian cuisine until March 2024.
The onion is retailing at Tk 200-220 and more in and outside Dhaka on Saturday, compared with Tk 130 on Thursday, which is a shocking development for consumers reeling under the higher cost of living.
India extended the ban until March 2024, three weeks before the ban announced earlier was set to expire on December 31.
Onion prices go up by Tk 50–60 per kg in Khulna as India bans export
Although banning onion export by India is not new, wholesalers and retailers in Bangladesh are blaming India's ban extension for the sudden price hike, market analysts said.
They said that the ban has already been in place and has just been extended, and that's long before the current phase expires. But a group of market players, or syndicates, worked behind the sudden price hike.
Retailers were selling the local variety of onion at Tk 204 per kg at Karwan Bazar today, compared with Tk 130 on Thursday. Prices of Indian onions rose to Tk 110 from Tk 70 per kg.
Heavy rainfall threatens onion harvest in Faridpur
A week ago, the price of the local variety of onion was Tk 105 to Tk 125 per kg and it has increased to Tk 180 to Tk 190 today, according to the state-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB). The price of imported onions has surged to Tk 160–170 from Tk 90–110.
Mohammad Abdul Mazed, general secretary of the Shyambazar Onion Wholesalers Association, said India's export ban had a big impact on the country's market. Unseasonal rain over the past few days also affected the prices.
The price has rocketed not just in Dhaka but also in other parts of the country. For example, each kg of onion was sold for Tk 180 to Tk 200 this morning in Pabna.
According to wholesalers, the price suddenly jumped in the wholesale market in the district owing to the rain brought on by Cyclone Michaung.