Agriculture Minister Mohammed Abdus Shahid highlighted the contradiction of the surplus onion production in comparison to the requirement to import onions from Bangladesh and attributed the problem due to the lack of storage facilities.

Despite a production annual of around 3.5 million tonnes, which is more than domestic consumption, the perishable nature of onions as well as the shortages in storage force imports in order to supply demands. To address this issue, a storage and processing facility that was created with the help of government officials from the Netherlands administration within Bharadoba, Bhaluka subdistrict, is now in operation. The facility, which is a joint project together with Agro Processing Netherlands has an capacity of 400 tons.

Shahid highlighted the commitment of the government towards achieving self-sufficiency in the onion industry by highlighting an increase by one million tonnes in the past two years exceeding the current demands. Initiatives to aid farmers includes the supply of free seeds and subsidised ones and fertilizers. They aim to boost production as well as reduce the loss of harvest after which they are currently at between 20 and 30 percent. The minister was awed by the Netherlands government’s decision, highlighting the benefits it has for producers and the consumers of Bangladesh as well as urging private investments from both countries for storage options that are further developed.

Source: bssnews.net