Bangladesh expects Indian onions, sugar to stabilize Ramadan market

Bangladesh expects to bring onions and sugar from India before Ramadan to stabilize the domestic market.

Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud made the comment after his meeting with Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal in New Delhi on Friday.

The minister told journalists that he sought specifically 50,000 tons of onions and 100,000 tons of sugar.

“We had the discussion to import those before Ramadan,” he added.

The foreign minister had been pushing for uninterrupted supplies of commodities to Bangladesh from the beginning of his maiden India visit.

He raised the issue during the bilateral meeting with his counterpart Dr S Jaishankar on Wednesday.

He received assurance from the commerce minister.

The foreign ministry in a statement said Dr Mahmud requested him to take necessary measures to ensure an uninterrupted supply of essential commodities to Bangladesh till Ramadan. 

He said that the new government under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina starts a fresh journey with new mandates, and one of the priorities of the government is to address the prices of essential commodities.

Piyush Goyal said India is committed to ensuring the economic and financial stability in Bangladesh.

He stressed further improving the trade and commerce relations between the two countries. 

They also stressed holding regular meetings including the Commerce Minister Level Meeting to address the issues related to trade and commerce, the foreign ministry said.

On the concluding day of his three-day visit, the foreign minister on Friday also met the vice president of India and the ex-officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha Jagdeep Dhankhar at the Indian Parliament. 

He had a tour of the newly built Parliament Building of India. He will return to Dhaka on Friday night via Kolkata.