Indian onions selling in Bangladesh at Rs45 per kg: report

Bangladesh is selling onions imported from India at Rs45 per kg while the Indian government has been unable to curb its prices from prevailing at almost twice as much - a strange case of dumping when the country is facing shortage of the commodity.

Against the domestic price of Rs70-80 a kg for onion in Malda, in West Bengal, and across other markets in India, in Bangladesh it was selling for taka 63-64 (Rs45-47) in Rajsahi, Chapai Nawabgunj, Baliadanga and Dhaka Mirpur in Bangladesh, reveals a report in The Times of India.

India on an average exports 2,500 tonnes of onion daily through the five export centres in West Bengal at a time when the central government is talking of importing onion to keep prices in check (See: Onion hits Rs100 a kg; govt threatens imports, export ban and Onions will come from China, Egypt: Sharad Pawar)

India is exporting large quantities of onions, fruits, pulses and cement to Bangladesh through five border points of Mahadipur in Malda, Petrapol and Gojadanga in North 24-Parganas, Hili in South Dinajpur and Changrabandha in Cooch Behar while it imports hosiery goods and plastic containers from Bangladesh, the report pointed out.

The report also said Indian exporters are also suffering huge losses due to non-revision of onion prices.

While the government has fixed export prices of onion higher, the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (Nafed) had fixed the price of onions being exported to Bangladesh long ago and it needs to revise the rate soon else the exporters will continue to lose money.

With the government indicating that onion prices may remain high at least till Diwali and states left to take their own initiatives to ease the situation, it is not known how long will onion remain out of bound for the common man in India.

Food minister K V Thomas, meanwhile, blamed hoarding for the price rise. He, however, said there was no need to be "alarmed" about the price rise as imported onions would arrive in the next 10 days.