Onion prices drop further

At the end of the second week of Ramadan, onion prices at the capital’s kitchen markets fell even further as supply increased, providing some respite to customers struggling with the rising cost of other daily essentials.

Upon visiting several kitchen markets on Saturday, The Business Post found onion prices had decreased by Tk 5 per kg compared to the previous week.

Traders sold local onion at Tk 25 per kg, down from Tk 30-35 per kg last week in the retail markets. At Karwan Bazar, local onions were selling at even cheaper prices. It was being sold for Tk 20-22 per kg, whereas the price was Tk 24-25 per kg a week ago. Market insiders say the price of onions has never been so low in the past couple of years.

Farmers are selling their onions off in large quantities. Aside from that, the imports from India and the distribution of TCB onions can also be attributed to the decline in pricing, they added.

Farmers make a profit if onions are sold for Tk 25 per kg, which includes transportation, labour, and other costs, and as such the price has been set at the capital’s retail market, said onion traders.Karwan bazar’s onion wholesaler Md Khalil told The Business Post, they were currently buying onions for Tk 16 per kg from farmers in Faridpur and Pabna. During the ongoing onion season the market’s supply has increased and as a result, the price has decreased.

“This is the cheapest onion has been in the last three years. Prior to 2019, the price of onions was similarly cheap during the onion season,” he added.

He however expressed concern over the fact that the farmers were selling off all their onions. “At this rate, farmers will not have stocks of onion after the season passes, which might result in a supply crunch later.”