First consignment of onion flown from Pakistan arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International airport on Wednesday(Nov.20) at 7-30 evening.
Eighty-two tonnes & 500 kgs of onion were flown in from Karachi by an Azerbaijani air freighter at 7: 30 p.m. These onions will be sold in the open market through the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB).
Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation and Tourism ministry at a meeting decided to waive the cargo handling charges for any airlines that will import onion.
Biman charges Taka 18 per kg for any perishable goods, imported by any airlines, for its cargo handling services, it is learnt.
The waiver of charges for onion imports will help keep its prices stable, said a press release of the Civil Aviation ministry.
The ministry will provide all sorts of support to onion importers in this regard, it added.
The prices started dropping three to four days ago after locally grown onions and the ones imported from Myanmar, Egypt and China hit the market.