Onion import from India has resumed after two months through Benapole land port in Jashore.
On Wednesday (June 9), Dhaka-based importer Jubayer International imported 30 metric tonnes of onions through India's Petrapole land port.
Earlier, the Indian government stopped onion exports due to the crisis in onion production. As a result, onion import to Bangladesh was stopped. As a result, the importers are severely affected. Although their LCs worth hundreds of crores of rupees was open, they could not import onions because they were stuck on the other side due to the ban.
Benapole Customs Superintendent Alamgir Hossain said 29 metric tonnes of onions were imported from India this afternoon. Traders have to pay 5% duty on the import price to get the goods discounted. C&F Agent Sejuti Enterprise is collaborating with importers to complete customs and port formalities.
Aminul Haque, vice-president of the Benapole Port Import-Export Association, said the price of onion in the local market has come down by Tk. 10 per kg on the news of onion import. The price of onion in the market three days ago was 55 to 60 rupees per kg. If the supply of imported onions increases, the market price will come down further, he said.
He further said that when Indian onion imports were stopped, the price of onion skyrocketed due to the manipulation of the members of the opportunistic traders' syndicate. As a result, ordinary people are reluctant to buy this essential food item. In this case, if the government insists on monitoring the list of importers in the country and the quantity of onions they are importing and selling, then the ‘torture’ of the syndicate will be reduced to some extent, he said.
Johnny Islam, a representative of Hamid Enterprise in Khulna, Bangladesh's largest onion importer, said they were selling imported onions to local traders at Tk. 35-Tk. 36 per kg.
Imported Indian onions are being sold at Tk. 35-38 in the wholesale market and Tk. 36-40 in the retail market.
Benapole Port Deputy Director (Traffic) Mamun Kabir Tarafdar said all concerned have been instructed to expedite the unloading of imported onion.