Commerce adviser Sk Bashir Uddin on Sunday said the government would allow the import of onions if high prices persisted for the next four to five days.
At a press conference held at the commerce ministry, he told the reporters that the government has been keeping a close eye on the onion market.
鈥楾here is sufficient stock of onions in the country, and new onions would be available in the next two weeks. Even then, if the prices do not come down in the next four to five days, we would give approval for importing onions,鈥� he added.
Earlier on Thursday, the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission recommended that the commerce and agriculture ministries to allow the import of onions to stabilise the market.
In this regard, the BTTC also sent a findings report to the secretaries of the commerce and agriculture ministries, demonstrating trends in聽onion prices over the past years.
According to the report, the average price of onions in March 2025 was Tk 42 per kilogram, which soared by about 150 per cent to Tk 105 per kg in November.
The prices of the tuber items also soared by 37 per cent to 42 per cent from the last week, the report added.
However, the retail price of onions has been Tk 110-120 per kg over the past few days, up about 53 per cent from last week鈥檚 Tk 70-80 per kg, according to market visits and Trading Corporation of Bangladesh data.
Commerce adviser on Sunday said that there were currently 2,800 applications seeking to import onions.
鈥業f we provide approval to about 10 per cent of the applicants, the country would be flooded with onions. However, the government is monitoring to ensure that the prices do not fall completely and farmers are not harmed,鈥� he added.
The BTTC report also stated that the onion prices usually jump by 100 per cent between March-April and November over the past three years, underscoring the need for a long-term solution to this recurring problem.
The report also found that certain intermediaries were trying to destabilise the market by creating an artificial shortage at almost every stage of the supply chain.
BTTC stated that the price hike鈥檚 benefits couldn鈥檛 reach the farmers; rather, the intermediaries are taking them.
The prices of onions are low globally, including in India, from where Bangladesh imports about 99 per cent of its onions.
鈥楾he prices of onions are about Tk 16 in India; even after including all import duties and taxes, it would be possible to sell imported onions at less than Tk 50,鈥� the report stated.
Currently, importers are required to pay a total of 10 per cent import duty on onions.
