50,000 tonnes of onion from Egypt to reduce price: minister

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi yesterday said market price of onion will come down after 50,000 tonnes of the vegetable arrives from Egypt.

“Arrival of the huge shipment will reduce onion price,” he said while talking to journalists before attending the general meeting of District Brick Kiln Owners’ Association (DBKOA) at a city hotel.

“We generally import onions from India, but their local market price has gone up to Rs 80 per kg. After they come to our country from India, the price reaches Tk 100 per kg, providing no benefit to us,” he added.

He informed the media that a senior official of commerce ministry has been entrusted to monitor the onion market. He hoped that onion price in local markets will go back to the normal level as locally produced onions will be available from the end of this month.

Later, the commerce minister attended the general meeting of DBKOA as the chief guest with its president Mahbubur Rahman in the chair.

Rangpur Police Commissioner Abdul Alim Mahmud, SP Biplob Kumar Sarkar, and Additional Deputy Commissioner Syed Enamul Kabir attended the event as special guests.

More than 100 owners of various brick kilns from across the district participated in the meeting moderated by DBKOA General Secretary Azizul Islam.

While addressing the meeting, the commerce minister told brick kiln owners to produce bricks by following related laws to avoid polluting the environment.