Ittefaq Report
For the first time in three weeks, Indian onion prices decreased at the Khatunganj wholesale hub in Chittagong within the last two days.
The older stocks imported from India’s Nasik region dropped prices by Tk 6-8 to Tk 42-45 per kg as traders attempted to sell those off at the close of the season before those went bad.
Prices of recently harvested imports arriving now also fell by around Tk 7 to sell at Tk 50 per kg.
However, the changes haven’t reached the kitchen markets where the older varieties were selling at Tk 60 to Tk 65.
The local variety still costs around Tk 70 in wholesale and Tk 80-85 in kitchen markets, resulting in poor demand.
The older variety’s demands 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 they would not last long, he said, adding that new imports have started to arrive on a small scale.
Anwar Hossain, Dhaka Traders proprietor, said they usually sold a truckload every day but the last two weeks saw the sales halved. He believes traders might have opted for lesser profits to avoid losses.
Prices are 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 the reason.
Bagdadi Corporation’s Sagir Ahmed at Khatunganj hoped for further decrease in wholesale prices within a few days which would eventually bring down retail prices.
