Tariff Commission Recommends Limited Onion Imports Amid Price Surge

In a letter sent last Thursday to the Commerce Secretary and the Agriculture Secretary, the commission made this recommendation after reviewing the supply situation amid the recent spike in local market prices.

As of Friday, onions were selling for Tk 110–120 per kilogram in Dhaka markets. BTTC Chairman Moinul Khan told Prothom Alo, “Some middlemen are deliberately creating an artificial crisis to destabilize the market. Normally, onion prices should stay around Tk 90 per kg, but they are now above Tk 115. In neighboring countries, onions are being sold for around Tk 30 per kg.”

The commission believes that limited imports will reduce the influence of middlemen and allow consumers to buy onions at a fair price. It also noted that the benefit of higher prices is not reaching farmers directly.

India remains the primary source of imported onions for Bangladesh—accounting for 99% of total imports. Smaller quantities also come from Turkey, Pakistan, Myanmar, China, and Egypt. Although Bangladesh produced 4.448 million tons of onions last fiscal year, only 3.3 million tons reached the market due to storage issues. During the same period, 483,000 tons of onions were imported with a 10% tariff.

The Tariff Commission hopes that this measure will help stabilize onion prices and ensure consumer protection.