Metropolis Report –
Onion prices are constantly increasing in the markets of the capital. Traders claim that the price of onion is increasing due to a shortage of supply in the market compared to the demand. Without importing onion, its price will not decrease. Instead, they indicated that the price may increase in the coming days.
However, buyers are saying that there is no shortage of onion supply in the market. On the verge of Eid-ul-Azha, unscrupulous traders have increased the price of onions by stockpiling them. Here, businessmen are taking advantage of the lack of government supervision.
At present, onion is being sold at Tk 85 to Tk 90 per kg depending on the market. However, only two months ago, onion was sold at 30 to 35 taka per kg. Thus, in a span of two months, the price has increased almost three times.
According to the Department of Agricultural Extension, the country needed 35.50 lakh tonnes of onions in the previous fiscal year 2021–2022, but only 36.41 lakh tonnes of onions were produced.
However, from the time of production until the time of consumption, 25 percent of onions are often wasted due to post-harvest loss, spoiling, and cooking waste. As a result, there are around 9 lac tonnes of wasted onions throughout the nation. Additionally, roughly 2 percent of the onions planted are set aside as seeds for the next year. As a result, the nation is lacking around 8 lac tonnes of onions.
