Let manipulation regarding onions come to an end.

Fish, meat, vegetables—onions are indispensable in any dish. Sudden instability has been observed in the wholesale and retail markets of these onions. As if heat is applied to mercury, its heat increases, similarly, day by day the price of onion with production cost of Tk 28 per kg can increase to Tk 60 to Tk 400. The whole thing is a manipulation of a certain circle. And if those manipulators get news of India's ban on onion exports, who gets them!

According to information published in the media, India had imposed a ban on onion exports for an indefinite period. The deadline for this ban, originally set to expire on March 31st, was announced last December. However, on the last Friday, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) of the country issued an order stating that onion exports will remain suspended until further notice is served.

India is the largest exporter of onions globally. Bangladesh has to import onions every year, with the majority coming from India. Therefore, due to the ban on onion exports, it is anticipated that importers in many countries might face price hikes. On the other hand, it is also expected that onion prices in India's local market will fall even further.

Now question is, will the cessation of onion exports by India have any impact on Bangladesh? Answer is- Yes, it will. Because our past market conditions provide evidence of that.

Essentially, the type of government initiatives needed to control the onion market has not been seen. For example, farmers refraining from selling onions in advance to middlemen traders required sufficient financial incentives. Now the middlemen own the stock and they are the ones doing the manipulation. Therefore, going to the market, the buyers are in a difficult situation. This seems to be a social contagion of price escalation competition.

In our country, most businesses are inclined towards excessive profit-making tendencies, often at the expense of pressuring the general populace. This inclination leads to recurring problems. Sometimes it's the complexity of imports, sometimes it's low yields, and sometimes it's price hikes in exporting countries causing difficulties. Unscrupulous traders exploit these uncertainties surrounding onions every year. We know that in the past few years, this commodity has to be brought by land, sea and even by air to resolve the instability in the onion market in the country.

Once again, the onion market is slipping out of control due to various irregularities, providing ample reasons for consumers to be distressed. In the past, it has been observed that when syndicates create unbearable situations in the market through their manipulations, it is precisely at that moment that all concerned authorities, including the Ministry of Commerce, remain vigilant. However, no substantial punishment is ensured for dishonest traders. Therefore, consumers bear the brunt of this failure.

In such circumstances, it is now a matter of observation what steps the Ministry of Commerce takes. It remains to be seen what kind of legal action is taken against those unscrupulous traders who repeatedly put consumers in such dire straits due to their arbitrariness. Therefore, to keep the situation bearable before Eid comes, the government has no choice but to take measures in advance to prevent anarchy in the name of business.