Onion import starts through Benapole after three months

Onion import has started again from India after a long 3 months. Today, Monday (December 15) at around 2 pm, the first consignment of onions from Benapole land port entered transshipment yard number 31 via Petrapole port in India. The onion importers are M/s HKA Enterprise of Satkhira and M/s Sabah Enterprise of Jessore.
Rafiqul Islam Royal, the owner of the imported onion clearance company Royal Enterprise, said that 90 tons of onions have been imported in 3 trucks so far in this consignment. Earlier, only 60 tons of onions were imported in September. Meanwhile, general buyers think that the price of onions in the market will decrease due to the news of imports.
Today, a visit to the raw market in Benapole showed that domestically cut onions are being sold at a price of Tk 5 to Tk 105 per kg and domestically cut onions are being sold at a price of Tk 10 to Tk 120 per kg. Traders say that due to news of imports from India, prices have also fallen in the retail market, which has led to a drop in local prices. Shyamal Kumar Nath, Deputy Assistant Officer at Benapole Plant Quarantine Center, said, “The Commerce Ministry has allowed the import of onions from India. But it is in small quantities. 200 importers will get IPs every day and an importer will be able to import 30-60 tons of onions. We are requesting the government to open IPs (import permits) for onion imports. Then the price of onions in the domestic market will come down further.” Benapole Port Director Shamim Hossain said, “Instructions have been given to the concerned officials so that the imported onion traders can unload the products quickly.”