New onions arrive at local markets, Dhaka yet to benefit

Fresh onions have started coming to local markets in the district level, and within the next week, they will also arrive at Dhaka markets.

Different district offices of the Department of Agricultural Extension said advance marketing of onions will ease the already heated-up market in the country.

The Rangpur office of the Department Agricultural Extension said farmers have cultivated onions on 710 hectares of land, and the crop has started reaching the markets. Green onions with shoots are selling for Tk130 to Tk140 per kg.

The price of green onions is a bit high, but they have a big demand in the market, said Md Sarwar Haque, an assistant director at the district Agricultural Extension office.

Very soon they will be available in the markets of the capital, he added.

Apart from Rangpur, other districts, including Manikganj, Bogura, Pabna and Joypurhat, have also cultivated onions in advance, and the crop is being sold in local markets.
In Manikganj, a district very near Dhaka, farmers began marketing new onions from last week. The crop was cultivated on 300 hectares of land. Against a high demand, green onions are selling for Tk50 to Tk60 per bunch (1 bunch = six to eight onions with green shoots).

Habibur Rahman Chowdhury, an assistant director at the district agricultural extension office, said farmers have started marketing green onions to meet the local demand. Once the peak harvesting time begins, onions will also be sent to Dhaka.

Farmers said they were selling onions in advance because they would be able to earn more. One maund of green onions was selling for Tk6,500 in the district.

Meanwhile, onions have been cultivated on 310 hectares of land in Bogura, and on 140-150 hectares in Joypurhat.

According to the Department of Agricultural Extension, the government has set a target to produce 23.80 lakh tonnes of onions this season. In the 2018-19 fiscal year, a total of 23.30 lakh tonnes were produced.

What we observed at Dhaka markets

Onion prices in wholesale markets of the capital have started coming down, though slowly.

At Karwan Bazar, locally-produced onions on Sunday sold for Tk210 to Tk220 per kg, a decrease by Tk10 to Tk20 per kg.

The price of onions imported from Myanmar also reduced by Tk10 to sell for Tk190 per kg, and that of Egyptian ones was Tk180 per kg.

But retail markets are yet to see the benefits of the price reduction in wholesale markets. At several retail markets in Rampura, Badda and Segunbagicha, local onions were still selling for Tk240 to Tk250 per kg and the imported ones for Tk230 to Tk240 per kg.

Anis, a grocer at the Segunbagicha kitchen market, said, "We are charging high prices from customers because we have bought onions at high prices. We will sell at reduced prices when we can buy the item at lower prices from wholesalers."