Onion prices soar: Underprivileged struggle in daily rat race
Staff Reporter :
Everyday waves of underprivileged individuals are getting themselves engaged in an unceasing struggle to buy the daily essentials, including edible oil, lentils and especially onions as prices of these items are out of their reach now.
The current price hike of onions, which is now being sold between Tk 200 and 220 in various markets, but these underprivileged people, cannot afford it at all. As a result, they are now running after the truck sales to buy the item at some low price.
In a bid to provide some ease for the poor segment of the people, the authorities are selling these items through Open Market Sale (OMS) on trucks at designated locations in the capital.
On Monday, it was witnessed that hundreds of people including adolescent girls, women and the elderly are waiting outside the National Press Club premises since morning before the arrival of a truck loaded with OMS products at the spot.
Upon the truck’s arrival, people started jostling one another to be the first to purchase, fully aware that the meager supply would quickly run out.
To manage the chaos, sellers resorted to marking the hands of buyers with ink, ensuring that only a select few could make purchases, leaving others deprived for the day.
Law enforcement personnel were deployed to prevent potential mishaps arising from the desperation of the impoverished crowd.
This daily struggle has become a commonplace occurrence, reflecting the stark reality that the purchasing power of the low-income group has been stretched beyond its limits due to unbridled market manipulation.
On Monday at Karwan Bazar in Dhaka, retailers marked the locally grown onions at Tk 200 per kg, witnessing a significant surge from Tk 130 per kg just on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the prices of Indian onions escalated to Tk 110 from the previous Tk 70 per kg.
According to the state-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), the cost of the local variety of onions, which stood between Tk 105 to Tk 125 per kg just a week ago, has now risen to Tk 180 to Tk 190.
Simultaneously, the price of imported onions has experienced a surge, climbing to Tk 160-170 from the previous range of Tk 90-110.
The escalating prices of essential kitchen items, driven by high food inflation, have rendered almost all basic commodities inaccessible to those with fixed incomes and limited means.
Opposition parties, notably the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Bangladesh Islami Andolan, are now strongly criticising the government for its inability to regulate the kitchen market.
They assert that an unchecked syndicate is manipulating prices without any semblance of accountability.
BNP’s Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Monday said, “The market for daily essentials is being manipulated by the syndicate to fund the one-sided election campaign. The Awami League is being accused of engaging in market manipulation”
He further said, following the announcement of the suspension of Indian onion imports two days ago, onion prices have been skyrocketing by the hour.
“The price of onions has surged from Tk 100 to nearly Tk 300 within two days.
This abnormal increase in onion prices has left ordinary consumers grappling with unprecedented financial strain,” he said.
Moreover, the country is witnessing discontent over the soaring prices of onions, garlic, pulses, and rice.
“There seems to be no end to this frustration.
While businesses are determining prices at their whims, the government appears to be reluctant to enforce any regulations or rules,” he said.
“If the government were elected by the people’s votes, they should not have allowed party-affiliated businesses to manipulate the market,” Rizvi said.
Expressing deep concern, Maulana Yunus Ahmad, the Secretary-General of Islamic Andolan Bangladesh, said, “Such an abrupt rise to Tk 220 in onion prices due to syndicate manipulation is unacceptable.
The government’s acknowledgment of collusion with the syndicate has left the control of commodity prices unchecked.”
