Onion, the key kitchen commodity, came down slightly in wholesale prices on Tuesday for its increased supply to the local market, according to trade insiders.
However, the retail rates remained unchanged in various city markets the same day.
Imported onion was traded at Tk 58-60 for each kilogram, down from Tk 62-64 on Monday.
The prices of local onion were Tk 57-61 a kg, down from Tk 61-65, the traders said.
The prices will fall further in the coming days, said Mohsin Uddin, an importer at Shyambazar kitchen market.
Md Shariatullah, a Dhanmondi-based trader, was selling onion at higher rates.
The home-grown onion sold at Tk 80-85, local 'king-size' onion at Tk 75-80 and imported varieties at Tk 70, he told the FE.
The trader said a paltry fall in wholesale prices was yet to impact the retail market.
Citing a rise in onion supply, Mr Shariatullah hoped the prices would start declining soon in line with the wholesale rates.
The retail prices of native variety rose to Tk 70-75 a kg, up from Tk 65-70 in just a week, according to the Trading Corpora-tion of Bangladesh (TCB).
On the other hand, imported onion was sold at Tk 65-70 a kg in the retail market, up from Tk 55-65, the state trading entity showed.
The prices of one of the key cooking ingredients was retailed at Tk 70-Tk 74 on Tuesday, according to a report of the Department of Agriculture Marketing.
Echoing Mr Mohsin on the latest price fall, Shyambazar trader Abdul Quddus said both import and supply were increasing gradually.
Onion prices are expected to fall further in a day or two, he told the FE.
However, the government has heightened monitoring to stabilise the prices of essentials in the wake of a volatile commodity market, officials said. On September 18, TCB started open market sale (OMS) of onion at subsidised rates in different parts of the city to stabilise prices.
Earlier, it recorded a Tk 14-18 per cent hike in a single day and a Tk 42-46 per cent rise in a single week of onion prices.
Onion OMS and heightened monitoring seemed to have turned futile as they are still to stabilise the mainstream market, said the market insiders.
Commerce ministry earlier doubled its vigilance to oversee the market with intent to give some relief to the consumers.
As many as 28 teams instead of the previous 14 teams are now supervising the market.
Onion price started hiking since mid-September.
According to TCB, onion prices have seen a 55-per cent increase in the past one month.
TCB began selling onion in Dhaka city at 10 points at a lower rate of Tk 45 per kg.
But the open-market sale, however, is meeting scantily against the demand for the consumables countrywide.
On average, Bangladesh needs 6,500 tonnes of onion per day.
According to the relevant ministry, there is a demand for 2.4 million tonnes of onion in the local market.
Onion prices depend on the supply and a price hike in neighbouring India, the major source of onion imports.
To address the issue, wholesalers said, the process of importing onion from Turkey and Egypt from early October is well under way.
Earlier on Monday, commerce ministry at a meeting with stockholders hoped the prices would be down shortly, thanks to a boost in the market supply.
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