Onion price soars as Bulbul disrupts transport

The price of onion went up again in the city markets on Monday as Cyclone Bulbul disrupted the supply chain of the item for two days.

The prices of atta, mayda, unpacked soya bean oil and palm oil also increased in the city.

Traders said that the price of onion increased by Tk 10-15 a kg due to the shortage of supply as the release of imported onions was halted in the Chattogram port on Saturday and Sunday as Cyclone Bulbul hit Bangladesh on Saturday night.

Local variety of onion was retailed at Tk 130-140 a kg while the item imported from Myanmar was retailed at Tk 125-130 a kg.

The price of onion began to rise mid-September and it rose up to Tk 150 a kg in the last week of October after India on September 13 set the minimum export price of the item at $850 a tonne.

The prices of onion decreased slightly in the recent week and the local variety of the item was retailed at Tk 115-120 a kg while the onions imported from Myanmar were sold at Tk 100-110 a kg on Saturday.

On September 29 when India imposed a ban on onion export, the price hit Tk 120 a kg the following day in Dhaka’s kitchen markets.

The prices of atta and mayda increased by Tk 2 a kg and unpacked atta was sold for Tk 30-33 a kg, while mayda was sold for Tk 36-40 a kg. 

Traders said that the prices of atta and mayda went up due to increase in wheat price in the market.

The prices of unpacked soya bean oil and palm oil increased by Tk 4 a litre and the items were retailed at Tk 82-88 a litre and Tk 66-72 a litre respectively.

According to the traders, refiners increased the prices of the edible oil as the prices of the items went up on the international market.

The prices of vegetables also went up in the city due to Cyclone Bulbul.

Cauliflowers were retailed at Tk 40 a piece and cabbage Tk 33-40 a piece in the city’s kitchen markets on Friday.

Radish, beans and spinach were retailed Tk 50 a kg, Tk 80 a kg and Tk 80-100 a kg respectively on the day.

Aubergine was sold for Tk 60-80 a kg, papaya for Tk 25-30 a kg, bitter gourds for Tk 60-70 a kg, okra for Tk 60 a kg, bottle gourds for Tk 50-60 apiece, cucumber for Tk 50-70 a kg and tomatoes for Tk 80-120 a kg on Friday.

Green chilli was sold for Tk 80- 100 a kg on the day.

Traders said that the price of vegetables would take few days to come down as Cyclone Bulbul damaged the farm land of early winter vegetables and disrupted the supply chain.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net