Following a surplus of both local and imported onions in the country's markets, prices of the commodity have fallen to an average of Tk25 per kg, leaving farmers to bear a major portion of the loss.
According to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), onion prices stood between Tk20 to Tk25 as of Monday, down from Tk30 in January. Onion prices in February last year were between Tk45 to Tk55.
However, consumers expressed their satisfaction over low onion prices.
Data by the Department of Agricultural Marketing reveals that in the previous fiscal year (FY2017-18), onions were cultivated on 212,194 hectares of land in Bangladesh, contributing to a production of 2.33 million metric tons.
However, in the first seven months of the current fiscal year (FY2018-19), the amount of land used for cultivation increased to 216,000 hectares of land, yielding 2.38 million metric tons of locally grown onions.
According to data by Department of Agricultural Marketing, from FY2012-13 to FY2016-17, onion production in the country increased by 59%.
Furthermore, high imports from India—which also saw a bumper harvest of onions this season—also contributed to the drastic fall in prices, leaving the Bangladeshi farmers to bear the brunt of the losses.
Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune, Jewel Pramanik, an onion farmer in Pabna's Manikhat Union, said that they are having to sell all onions at throwaway prices since they cannot be stored for long periods of time.
"We also do not have warehouses to store all the onions, and need support from the government for storage," Jewel explained.
Last year, Rajshahi farmers did not make much profit selling other crops. So, this year, they decided to grow onions anticipating a high demand of the vegetable.
According to the Agriculture Extension Department of Rajshahi, 14,910 hectares of land have been used for onion cultivation, out of the 15,168 hectares allocated for FY2018-19, up from 14,736 hectares in FY2017-18.
Currently, retailers are selling onions in Rajshahi at Tk15 per kg and buying them from farmers for Tk12 per kg.
Enayet Hossain, a farmer from the Palash Fatehpur Char of the Bagha upazila, said: "I planted the onions by borrowing money from different NGOs and moneylenders. Since prices are very low, I cannot pay them back."
Munshiganj's Julhas Bepari said he had planted onions because prices were very high last year. "I remember that onions were being sold at Tk60 per kg. But the drastic fall in prices have made it impossible to even raise our production costs,” Julhas added.
Price of onions in Munshiganj currently range between Tk16 to Tk20.
Shahidul Islam, an onion wholesaler in Shyambazar, said that they are selling local and Indian onions at Tk20 and Tk17 per kg, respectively.
Another wholesaler Raj Ali said that the situation can be brought under control if farmers can store the onions in warehouses for at least a month, adding that traders can then hike prices, and farmers can also earn their fair share.
However, the Deputy Director of Department of Agricultural Extension Tushar Kanti Samadder argued that farmers are recovering some of the money they lost by cultivating other supplementary crops.
Imported onions still coming in
Most of the onions imported from India come via the Hili Land Port. According to port office sources, onions from Indore and Gujarat are still being imported, despite the surplus.
In the wholesale market at the Hili Land Port, price of onions have been around Tk10 per kg for a month.
Last month, wholesale price of imported onions from India at Hili Land Port fell to Tk6 per kg, while retail prices ranged between Tk10 to 12 at nearby markets.
At present, in Hili's wholesale market, imported onions are being sold for Tk13 to Tk14 per kg.
In Hili's retail markets, onions are being sold at Tk15 to Tk18 per kg.
Traders at the Benapole Land Port also said onions are still being imported from India and that customs authorities have ordered the Benapole Port to remain open.