Prices of Indian onion drop in Ctg

For the first time in three weeks, Indian onion prices saw a downtrend at the Khatunganj wholesale hub in Chittagong in the last two days.

Prices of older stocks imported from India's Nasik region dropped by Tk 6-8 to Tk 42-45 per kilogramme (kg) as traders attempted to sell those off at the close of the season before those went bad.

Prices of recently harvested imports that have started to arrive also fell by around Tk 7 to sell at Tk 50 per kg.

However, the changes were yet to reach kitchen markets where the older varieties were selling at Tk 60 to Tk 65.

The local variety still remains pricey at around Tk 70 in wholesale and Tk 80-85 in kitchen markets, resulting in poor demand.

Demand for the older variety decreased noticeably in the last two weeks mainly for its high price and this could be the reason for the price fall, said Mohammad Faruq, director of wholesaler Era Traders.

The stocks were old and would not last long, he said, adding that new imports have started to arrive on a small scale.

Anwar Hossain, proprietor of Dhaka Traders, said they usually sold a truckload every day but sales had halved in the last two weeks. He thinks traders might have opted for lesser profits to avoid losses.

On prices still remaining high in kitchen markets, a staffer at Sarkar Traders at Karnaphuli CDA Market said they bought the stocks last week at a higher price and so they were charging accordingly.

He acknowledged that sales had decreased for this.

Sagir Ahmed of Bagdadi Corporation at Khatunganj hoped for further drops in wholesale prices within a few days which would eventually bring down retail prices.