The prices of onions have experienced a sharp hike in the country due to a supply shortage and a pause in import over the past few months.
The traders said that they have to buy onions at higher prices even in producing regions like Pabna, Faridpur, Rajbri, and Khulna.
They said that due to adverse weather conditions during the harvesting season and excessive rainfall throughout the months, a large number of onions spoiled.
The peak season of onions has almost ended, which also created a supply shortage.
Moreover, the pause in imports from India also accelerated the price hike, as onion prices typically hike at the end of the rainy season every year.
In different city markets, it was observed that onions were sold at Tk聽80-85 per kilogram at the retail level on Sunday.
However, the prices were slightly lower, at around Tk聽75-80 per kilogram, at the wholesale level in Karwan Bazar and other wholesale markets.
The retail price was about Tk 60-65 a week ago, indicating that the spice item witnessed a sharp increase of about Tk 20-25 per kilogram.
Kamal Sheikh, proprietor of Matri Bhandar, a wholesale onion trader at Karwan Bazar, was selling onions at Tk聽2,800-3,000 per maund, meaning Tk 70-75 per kilogram.
鈥榃e have to buy onion at higher prices, about Tk 2,600-2,700 per maund (67-67.5 per kg) from the producing regions,鈥� he added.
He also stated that due to excessive rain, many onions were spoiled, which contributed to the price hike.
鈥楾he import from India is also stop for past several months. Every year, at the end of rainy season, a scarcity of onions emerges at the country,鈥� he added.
The import might impact the reduction in prices; otherwise, there are less possibilities of lowering the price before the new harvesting season, he added.
Echoing the same, Raj Ali Babu, another trader at Karwan Bazar, said that he bought onions of two variants at Tk 67 and Tk 68 per kilogram.
The prices of onions also witnessed a hike in Khatunganj of Chattogram, country鈥檚 one of the largest wholesale market.
Omar Faruk, a trader of Khatunganj, told 抖阴精品鈥檚 Chattogram correspondent that the onions were sold at Tk 62-72, per kilogram, based on sizes.
鈥榃e were buying onions at higher price from Faridpur, Rajbari, and Kushtia. Mainly, the peak season of onions almost ended, which impacted the price hike, along with import halt,鈥� he added.
According to the Department of Agricultural Extension, the annual target for onion production was 38.21 lakh tonnes in the financial year 2024-25.
The country has a demand for about 32 lakh tonnes of onions annually.
Pabna, Faridpur, Khulna, and some other districts are the central hub of onion production in the country.
Jasim Uddin, a wholesale onion trader from Pabna, said that due to adverse weather conditions, the farmers had to harvest onions earlier than usual.
鈥業nitially, the onions remain heavy due to wet husks and soil stuck to onion body. But now the onions have become dry and clean, finally losing weight significantly,鈥� he added.
Moreover, due to untimely harvest, many onions spoiled later, and are still spoiling at the farmers鈥� warehouses.
鈥楢 farmer have to spend about Tk聽70,000 to produce onions at a bigha of land and we get about 40-50 maunds from per bigha. The production cost surpassed Tk聽1,700 for per maund,鈥� he added.
On Sunday, the wholesale prices of onions at Pabna ranged from Tk 2,300 to Tk 2,700 per maund.
According to a senior official of the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, around 30 to 35 per cent of the onions produced each year are lost due to various reasons, mainly due to rotting caused by聽inadequate storage.聽
Moreover, storing onions in a cold storage facility is also costly for ordinary farmers, he added.
鈥楨ven if the production exceeds the country鈥檚 total demands, spoilage leads to a shortfall of 400,000 to 600,000 tonnes, which has to be met through imports,鈥� he added.
However, he urged the government to ensure a fair year-round price for farmers before imports, to encourage them to produce more.
Regarding imports, Md Abdur Razzak, additional secretary (IIT wing) of the Ministry of Commerce, told The 抖阴精品 that imports from India have been paused for the past several months.
鈥榃e are strongly monitoring the market and we are aware. If the situation demands, we would rethink about reopening the import,鈥� he added.
Meanwhile, the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection has launched inspections to investigate the reasons behind the price hike.
Although officials have not found any concrete evidence of market manipulation so聽far, the drives would continue.