Onion prices fall at wholesale but retail rates remain higher

Onion prices at wholesale markets in Bangladesh have decreased over the past week thanks to imports of the popular cooking ingredient, but prices at the retail level remain mostly unchanged.

About 7.71 lakh tonnes of onion were cultivated this year, with farmers keeping 1.03 lakh tonnes in reserve for sale during the off-season, according to the Department of Agricultural Extension.

Md Kamruzzaman, a leading onion farmer in Durgapur village under Sujanagar upazila of Pabna, said that each maund (roughly 37 kilogrammes) of onion sold for between Tk 4,000 and Tk 4,200 just a week back. Now though, the price per maund has declined by about Tk 200 to Tk 300.

"The wholesale price has declined as there is sufficient supply in the market," he added.

Md Rabiul Islam, a local onion wholesale trader, echoed the same by saying the arrival of imported onion helped reduce prices by ensuring sufficient supply of the bulb this year.

However, this has had little impact on retail prices as each kilogramme (kg) of onion is selling for about Tk 100 to Tk 110, marking a decrease of just Tk 10 over the past week.

"We buy each maund for Tk 4,000 at wholesale, so we have to sell each kg for Tk 110 to cover transportation costs and other expenses," said Md Nannu, a leading vegetable trader in Pabna.

Still though, he claims the price of onion is lower at present compared to what it was during last year.

"We sold onion for up to Tk 140 per kg last year as the wholesale price was higher," Nannu added.

Md Rokonuzzaman, additional deputy director the Department of Agricultural Extension in Pabna, said the district is one of the biggest producing regions, contributing as much as 30 percent of the overall onion cultivation each year.

"The farmers in Pabna keep onions in reserve to sell them at wholesale markets across the country year-round," he added.

He also informed that the farmers will likely begin cultivating the early season variety of onion from mid-October to get yields by early next year.

Besides, the reserve onion will be available until fresh harvests reach the market, so there is no scope for supply shortages this year, Rokonuzzaman said.