Dhaka, Nov. 22 -- On September 30, a Dhaka housewife on a shopping expedition already found the situation around a rise in the price of onions "crazy", speaking to an international news agency.

"I went to buy 5 kilograms of onions for our five-member family but ended up buying only 3 kilograms due to higher prices. "They (traders) are selling old stock nearly at double the price. This is crazy," said Afroza Mimi, the day after India banned all exports of onions as local prices jumped to 4,500 rupees ($63.30) per 100 kg, their highest in nearly six years, due to the delay in summer-sown crop arrivals triggered by longer, heavier rains than usual.

One can scarcely imagine what Ms Mimi makes of the situation today, in the third week of Nov...