A commerce ministry team is likely to go to Myanmar in the next week to study the feasibility of onion import from the country amid price spiral of the item in the domestic market.
The team will explore the import possibility of essential commodities including onion in an aim to keep the price of the items affordable for the middle and lower income groups, commerce secretary Mahbub Ahmed told New Age on Thursday.
The price of onion almost doubled in the domestic market recently and it was selling at Tk 85 a kilogram. The price of the item has increased as the Indian traders have raised its price.
In this situation, the government has taken move to import the item from alternative countries at lower prices.
In line with the government decision, the commerce ministry have decided to send a team headed by the additional secretary (import) to Myanmar to explore the opportunity of onion import at lower price, said additional commerce secretary Monoj Kumar Roy.
He said, ‘We have sought permission from the prime minister and after getting her nod we will go to the country as soon as possible.’
The chairman of Trading Corporation of Bangladesh, chief controller of export and import and a member of Tariff
Commission will be included in the team, Monoj said.
On August 19, the TCB board decided that they would initially import at least 5,000 tonnes of onion from either India or Myanmar.
The board took decision that the TCB would import onion till the market cools down and the product would be imported on short-, medium- and long-term basis.
TCB board also decided to import onion directly and through international quotation and international tender.
On August 17, the commerce ministry asked the TCB to examine the feasibility of import of onion from any countries like Myanmar, India or China to help stabilise the market.