Onion growers across Bangladesh have faced difficulties due to the dramatic decrease in the prices of onions during peak of the harvest. In areas like Pabna and even greater Faridpur The influx of onions that are new caused price cuts and has made it more difficult for farmers to recover the production cost.

Md Rabiul Islam, a trader from his Pushpopara wholesale market located in the Pabna Sadar, has reported the steep drop in prices. “Each maund (around 40 kg) sold for between $13 and $14 in the last week. Then on Monday, it fell to between $11 and $12 the following day the value dropped between $8 and $10.” the man said.

The market for wholesale in the district has witnessed an increase in the supply of onions, despite the demand for onions remaining low. In the Pushpopara market, availability increased from between 80 and 100 tonnes on Monday and surpassed 200 tonnes on Thursday. The supply is expected to rise in the future, with regard to the current scenario of demand.

Md Kamruzzaman, who is a farmer in Durgapur village, located in Sujanagar upazila expressed his concern about the declining price of his crop. “This year I was receiving around $11-12 per maund in the last week. This price is so affordable that I’ve stopped selling onions,” he mentioned. Kamruzzaman’s farming on 40 bighas of land, and 30 bighas of lease-lease land, has led to higher cost of production. “It costs between $230 and $275 to cultivate a bigha of onions on private land However, on land leased there is a cost that exceeds $460 as lease payment,” he explained. He estimates that the production cost will be higher than $0.36 per kilogram.

Md Ashikur Rahman who is the deputy assistant agriculture officer for the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Pabna has noted the impact of the high cost of fertilizer, seeds cost, as well as lease fees on production costs. He estimated an average cost of $0.34 per kilogram. “Last year’s price hikes enticed farmers to cultivate onions in the coming year, which lead to a rise in production” said Md Ashikur Rahman.

DAE statistics show the expansion of 10% in the cultivation of onions from 2.93 lakh hectares during the year FY25. Farmers such as Mafikul Islam, who is from Khoar village located in Saltha upazila in Faridpur and Faridpur have noticed an increase in costs of production. “Last year I earned an income of $920 but this year, the prices are extremely low, this is worrying” Mafikul Islam said.

Although supply has increased however, the demand is still low in the main wholesale markets. “At at least 10-12 trucks of onions have been sent towards Dhaka, Mymensingh, Tangail as well as adjacent districts, however we’re not able to offer them the onions in Chattogram as well as Sylhet,” said trader Rabiul Islam. He pointed to the huge inventory of imported onions from these regions.

Md Rokonuzzaman Md Rokonuzzaman, deputy director at DAE in Pabna The director advised the farmers to not get too excited about the price drop. “A huge harvest has added the supply of onions, which has pushed prices down. Farmers have been advised to keep their onions in storage, since the prices will likely rise after the harvesting season is over,” he said. The effort is underway to increase infrastructure for storage in Pabna which is a major onion producing region.

Source: The Daily Star