50,000 tonnes onion from India to hit market soon: Titu

Onion price volatility is likely to end as 50,000 tonnes of onion from India will hit the market from next week, State Minister for Commerce Ahsanul Islam Titu said on Friday.

"The first truckload of onions will arrive from India next week. Gradually, a total of 50,000 tonnes of onion will reach the country," he said while speaking as the chief guest at a programme marking the World Consumer Rights Day.

He also urged businessmen and civil society representatives to play a key role in curbing consumer goods prices.

"We are working to strengthen the supply chain. We are working to control the prices of products during Ramadan. We have been able to reduce the price of oil. Now, pulses, chickpeas and sugar are available in the market," he noted.

He said the government is working to strengthen the Directorate of Agricultural Marketing that will determine retail and wholesale prices of the products.

The state minister said the state-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) is selling daily essentials at subsidised rates to one crore low-income families nationwide.

Around four crore people in the country are getting benefit of the programme, he added.

He also mentioned that many traders and companies are selling products at mill gate prices, which is giving consumers a lot of relief.

During the event, the state minister for commerce inaugurated a software called Supply Chain Monitoring System (SCMS).

Tapan Kanti Ghosh, senior commerce secretary, Md Amin Helaly, senior vice-president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and AHM Shafiquzzaman, director general of the Directorate of the National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP), among others, spoke on the occasion.