‘Told cook to make food without onions,’ says Sheikh Hasina after India’s export ban

Hasina said: \'It has become difficult for us to get onions. I don\'t know why you stopped the supply.\'

Update: 2019-10-04 09:36 GMT

New Delhi: Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday joked about the shortage of onion for her country after India banned exports last month.

Hasina said: "It has become difficult for us to get onions. I don't know why you stopped the supply. I've told my cook to make food without onions!”

"Some notice (about the ban) would have been nice. It was stopped so suddenly that it has become difficult. The next time you decide to do something like this... some advance notice would be nice,” she added.

Hasina who is in Delhi to attend the India Economic Summit of the World Economic Forum, pitched her country as a fast-growing economy and attractive business destination.

On September 29, the Centre banned, "with immediate effect", the export of onions after prices jumped to Rs 4,500 per 100 kilograms, the highest in nearly six years.

Bangladesh has been badly hit by India's export ban, with prices crossing Rs 10,000 per 100 kilogram in the capital city of Dhaka. The country has turned to Myanmar, Egypt, Turkey and China to increase supplies and control prices in its markets.

It takes about a month to bring onions from Egypt to Bangladesh and about 25 days from China. It only takes a few days to get it from India.

 

Catch the latest news, live coverage and in-depth analyses from India and World. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Similar News