Eye-Watering Onion Prices: Govt dropped the ball
A parliamentary watchdog yesterday raised questions over the commerce ministry’s delay in importing onions to face the ongoing crisis, while another minister separately admitted the government’s “failure” in this regard.
The Standing Committee on Ministry of Commerce also blamed some businessmen for hoarding imported onions and thus contributing to the price hike.
The issue came up as the onion price skyrocketed in recent time and went out of the purchasing capacity of middle and lower income people.
Indian and local onions are selling at Tk 140-150 per kg in the kitchen markets of Dhaka, while both varieties sold for around Tk 50 in September.
Traders said the Indian onion price started shooting up in the third week of September due to a supply shortfall, and it left an impact on the price of local varieties.
In the last week of September, India banned onion export with immediate effect after extended monsoon downpours delayed harvest and supplies shrivelled.
The resulting price hike in Bangladesh raised concern among consumers. Later, state-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) began selling onions at Tk 45 a kg with a limit of 2kg per person through 35 mobile vans in Dhaka.
“India banned export one month ago. The ministry concerned should have taken a prompt decision on onion import and the opening of LC at that time. Why was there delay?” asked Tofail Ahmed, chairman of the standing committee.
“The ministry should have done an analysis on production and demand of onions. How much will we need to import? So we asked the ministry to remain alert in the future and take advance measures to avert such crisis,” he told The Daily Star.
Meeting at the parliament building, the committee also urged proper functioning of TCB and the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection in dealing with the crisis.
A member of the committee, Mahmud Us Samad Chowdhury, said the committee blamed a section of businessmen for the price hike as they stocked the daily kitchen essential after import. “The committee asked the ministry concerned to take action against these businessmen with the help of law enforcers.”
Around 7-8 lakh tonnes of onions are imported every year to meet the country’s demand of 24 lakh tonnes. Bangladesh can produce 23 lakh tonnes of onions annually but a portion of it get damaged.
On the same day, Agriculture Minister Muhammad Abdur Razzaque admitted that there was a failure on the part of the government in facing the crisis.
“We could have taken steps regarding onion crisis much earlier. However, we have not done that. This is our mistake,” he told a press briefing at the ministry.
Onion production was enough but floods ravaged the crop, resulting in the present crisis, while India’s ban on export aggravated it, the minister said. “In the future, we will take necessary measures to import onions in due time.”
Razzaque said the government would provide free seeds and fertilisers worth Tk 80 crore to small and marginal farmers to ensure nutrition for all through crop diversification.
As part of the initiative, an onion producer will get 1kg of seeds, 20kg of DAP [diammonium phosphate] fertiliser, and 10kg of MOP [muriate of potash] fertiliser for cultivating onions at one bigha land, he said.
Under the programme, 686,700 marginal farmers would get free seeds and fertiliser for cultivation of nine crops -- wheat, maize, mustard, sunflower, peanut, winter season mung, summer season mung, onion, and summer season sesame.
This will help earn more than Tk 840.29 crore, the minister said.
The incentive would be given to 7,700 farmers for onion cultivation; 75,000 for wheat; 250,000 for maize; 240,000 for mustard; 4,000 for sunflower; 10,000 for peanut; 25,000 for summer season sesame; 30,000 for summer season mung, and 45,000 for winter season mung.
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