C T Online Desk: Around 50,000 tonnes of onions, arriving from India soon, will be sold at Tk30-35 per kg by involving the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) to prevent market irregularities, said AHM Shafiquzzaman, director general of the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP).
“The state-run trading enterprise, TCB, will handle the sale of onions, while the commerce ministry will oversee the process,” said the government high official while addressing a programme at Kawran Bazar in the capital on Monday.
Earlier on Sunday, State Minister for Commerce Ahsanul Islam Titu said that the first consignment of around 50,000 tonnes of onions imported from India will enter the country in phases starting within the next two to three days.
The onions have already boarded trains which will arrive through the Darshana route, he said.
In the first consignment around 1,650 tonnes of onion will arrive in the country.
Meanwhile, the Indian government announced an exemption for Bangladesh and five other friendly countries from a ban on the export of onions, aimed at maintaining stability in their domestic market.
Later, India again extended its ban on onion exports to some neighbouring countries indefinitely, a surprising move that comes ahead of the general election in one of the world’s largest democratic countries.
The onion price may see a fresh hike in many countries including Bangladesh against the backdrop of the decision, one of the largest onion-exporting countries across the world.
Titu said the Indian embargo will not affect the deal with Bangladesh and as per the agreement, 50,000 tonnes of Indian onion will gradually come to Bangladesh.
