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Onion, gram get costlier

Traders hike prices despite adequate stocks ahead of Ramadan

Sohel Parvez and Suman Saha
Traders have increased the prices of gram and onions, cashing in on a rising demand ahead of Ramadan. A government estimate shows, though, that stocks of the two items are adequate.
In the last one month, the prices of onions rose by 23 percent to Tk24-35 fromTk20-28 a kg.
Onion prices increased, on average, by Tk 3.5 a kg over the past one week, according to the Trading Corporation ofBangladesh.
The prices of gram shot up by 22 percent to Tk 80-85 fromTk 65-70 a kg a month ago.
In the last one week, gram prices rose, on average, by Tk 2.5 a kg.
Reduced supplies by stockists and importers and the damage done to onions by the recent downpours are blamed for the price spiral of onions and gram. Demand
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for the two items soars during Ramadan, beginning in the third weekof this month.
Shafi Mahmud, president of Bangladesh pulses traders association, said the prices of gram increased, on average, byTk 3 per kg on the wholesale market over the last one month.
"The rise is reasonable.The prices of gram go up by such an amount ahead of Ramadan every year," he said.
"It [Ramadan] is a peak season for gram. After Ramadan, the demand will fallsignificantly."
Gram imports stood at 58,130 tonnes in the April-June period of the just concluded fiscal year, up from 39,081 tonnes in the same period a year ago, according to Chittagongcustoms data.
The latest imports reflect a surplus compared to the demand for gram estimated at 50,000 tonnes during the month of Ramadan, according to Bangladesh Tariff Commission, which monitors the essentials prices for the government.
The current stock of onions should meet the increased demand during Ramadan, said Narayan Chandra Saha, an importer-wholesaler at the city’s Shyambazar wholesale market.
"Retailers are mainly responsible for the hike in the prices of onions. Check the money receipts of the retailers. They are spoiling the market," said Saha, adding that onion prices came down slightly on the wholesale market yesterday.
The tariff commission's estimates show that the annual demand for onions is 20 lakh tonnes. Consumption rises to 2.20 lakh tonnes in Ramadan from 1.62 lakh tonnes in the usual months.
In the immediate past fiscal year, local production of onions stood at 16.20 lakh tonnes, harvested in March-April.
And till May, 3.5 lakh tonnes of onions were imported with 55,616 tonnes being in the pipeline, according to the tariff commission.
Aminul Islam, an onion wholesaler at Karwan Bazar, said the supply of locally produced onions had been low.
Ratan Saha, another wholesaler at Shyambazar, said the prices of onions usually rise during the monsoon when the demand for this cooking ingredient is met through stocks held by farmers and traders.
He claimed the prices were now stable on the wholesale market. But they might go up in the next couple of months due to reduced output in India, he said, citing Bangladesh's dependence on the neighbouring country for onions.