Bangladesh: India's export embargo sends onion prices soaring to Tk220 per kg

The price of onions in Bangladesh has nearly doubled overnight and keeps rising by the hour following news of India's extension of its export embargo on the essential commodity. On Saturday morning, local onions were being sold at Tk220 per kg in the capital, witnessing a surge from Tk140 the previous day. Meanwhile, imported and Indian onions rose to Tk200, up from Friday's range of Tk120-140. With an annual onion demand of around 7,600 tonnes daily (28 lakh tonnes annually) in the country, this abrupt Tk80-90 jump within a day translates to Tk60.80 crore in additional income for onion traders, including importers, wholesalers and retailers. However, authorities assert that the currently available onions are either domestically produced or arrived in the country before India imposed its export ban. AHM Shafiquzzaman, director general of the Directorate of National Consumers' Right Protection (DNCRP), said, "There is no justifiable reason for an overnight price surge and excessive ...