Onion production in Bangladesh could reach a record high this year as increased prices for the crop are encouraging farmers to expand cultivation, according to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE).

"Most onion farmers enjoyed good profit thanks to higher prices in 2023. So, they aim to maximise their output this year," said Sharmin Akter, deputy director (crops wing) of the DAE headquarters in Dhaka.

"We have fixed the annual cultivation target at 36.73 lakh tonnes from 2.6 lakh hectares of land, which would be a record-high in terms of yield and acreage," she added.

Akter informed that around 1.36 lakh hectares of land across the country were brought under onion cultivation over the past few weeks, nearly a month ahead of the traditional sowing season.

This is because farmers are jumping at the bit to benefit from higher onion prices, she said.

As per DAE data, a total of about 2.49 lakh hectares were brought under onion cultivation to produce 33 lakh tonnes of the bulb in 2023.

Md Rafikul Islam, deputy director of the Faridpur DAE, said they set a target to cultivate onion on 42,890 hectares of land to produce 5.53 lakh tonnes of the crop this year.

However, the total production could exceed 6 lakh tonnes as farmers have already prepared enough onion seed to cultivate more than 50,000 hectares of land, he added.

Md Hyder Haque, a farmer in Koijuri village of Faridpur sadar upazila, said most farmers got their expected profit last year as market prices were good.

"So, we are preparing to cultivate more onion this year," he added.

Photo: Ahmed Humayun Kabir Topu

But while onion farmers in other major growing, such as Rajbari and Pabna, are also eyeing bumper yields, their profits could be constricted by the rapid rise in production costs.

"For example, workers' wages have increased to about Tk 700 per day while it was Tk 500 previously," said Md Kamruzzaman, a leading onion farmer in Durgapur village under Sujanagar upazila of Pabna.

"It currently costs up to Tk 35,000 to grow onion on one bigha of my own land. Meanwhile, leasing land for onion cultivation drives up the cost by roughly Tk 15,000 per bigha," he added.

Md Arif Hossain, a farmer of Padmabila village in Sujanagar upazila, said although onion growers are expanding cultivation in hopes of higher profit, prices may fall when harvesting begins in March-April.

At wholesale, each maund (37 kilogrammes) of early-variety onion is currently selling for Tk 2,500 to Tk 3,000 but the price may drop to between Tk 1200 and Tk 1,500 when new stocks arrive, he added.

"We get up to 60 maunds of onion per bigha. So, we need prices of Tk 1,800 to Tk 2,000 per maund to get sufficient profit," said Md Mozammel Haque, a farmer of Mothurapur village in Sujanagar upazila.

According to the Pabna DAE, they aim to cultivate onion on 44,665 hectares in the district to produce 6.45 lakh tonnes of the crop.

However, they also confirmed that there has been an excessive rise in production costs due to the price hike of labour and other inputs, such as fertiliser and pesticide, amid ongoing inflationary pressure.

Md Abul Kalam Azad, deputy director of the Rajbari DAE, said a sufficient winter spell is needed to ensure good onion production.

So, while the recent spell of cold weather is well suited for growing onion, the overall production will depend on climate conditions throughout the cultivation cycle, he added.

Rajbari is a major onion producing hub, where they aim to cultivate the crop on 36,000 hectares of land to produce 4.8 lakh tonnes of the crop this year.

However, the total onion acreage may reach 40,000 hectares and produce 5 lakh tonnes of the crop as farmers have taken necessary preparations in this regard, Azad said.

Pabna, Rajbari and Faridpur are Bangladesh's biggest onion producing districts, accounting for more than half the country's annual production.