Fuel Price Hike Hits Onion Market: ‘We Live Hand to Mouth, How Will We Survive if Prices Rise?’

District Representative

Onion prices have increased by Tk 5 to Tk 10 per kg in the market adjacent to Hili land port in Dinajpur in the space of a week due to the increase in fuel prices and reduced supply due to adverse weather conditions. Local low-income laborers and daily wage earners are the ones who are suffering the most.

An analysis of the current situation in Hili Bazaar has shown that onions, which were sold at Tk 35 per kg in the retail market just a week ago, are currently being sold at Tk 40 to 45, depending on quality. Comparatively low-quality onions are being sold at Tk 40 in the market, while relatively good-quality onions are being exchanged for Tk 45.

Despite adequate stocks, this essential product is being sold at an increased price in all stores under the pretext of low supply.

Ordinary buyers who came to the market said that they were being forced to reduce their purchases due to the sudden increase in onion prices.

According to buyer Ruhul Amin, the majority of people in this region are daily wage laborers and ordinary workers. The sudden increase in prices has put a strain on the budget of ordinary families.

Another shopper, Abdul Majid, lamented, “We are people who live day by day, with no savings. If the price of every daily commodity increases like this, it becomes difficult for us to survive.”

Retailers are blaming supply shortages in the wholesale market and natural disasters for this price increase.

Hili Bazaar trader Rezaul Islam said that due to the adverse weather and continuous rains in the area for the past few days, farmers have not been able to pick onions at the market. At the same time, the increase in fuel prices has also increased transportation costs. As a result, they are having to buy at higher prices in the wholesale market, which has affected the retail market.

However, they assured that prices will come down again once supply returns to normal.

Regarding this market instability, Borhan Uddin, Assistant Director of the National Consumer Rights Protection Department, Dinajpur, said that regular surveillance and campaigns are being conducted in the market to ensure that no one can increase prices by creating an artificial crisis through dishonest means.

Cash memos of traders’ purchases and sales are being checked and legal action and fines are being imposed if prices are higher than the prescribed price. He assured that such monitoring activities will continue in the public interest.