Although the cultivation of early varieties called “Kondo onion”usually begins in mid-October every year, farmers are unable to prepare the designated land for cultivation due to excessive rainfall this year.
As a result, the new onion season may be delayed by 10-15 days, according to agriculturalists and farmers.
Stakeholders say 24 per cent of the total onion production in the country comes from early varieties. Therefore, if the cultivation of early onion varieties is delayed, the possibility of a decrease in the price of this commodity in the market is very low.
At the same time, the country's dependence on onion imports will not decrease.
According to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), onions are currently being sold in the market at Tk 110-120 per kilogram, which was Tk 85 – Tk 95 per kilogram during the same time last year (2023).
Therefore, the price of onions has increased by 37 per cent compared to last year.
However, even after overcoming the Covid-19 pandemic, in mid-October 2022, the price of early harvested onions was Tk 40 – Tk 50 per kilogram during the planting season. In other words, compared to 2022, the price of onions increased more than double in 2023. Onion price was at Tk 60 – Tk 65 per kg in October 2021.
Stakeholders have attributed last year's sudden surge in onion prices to factors such as crop damage due to excessive rainfall, abnormal increases in production costs, and a shortage of onion seeds.
For almost the entire past year, onion prices remained above one hundred. Consumers had hoped for a good onion harvest this year, which would have brought the prices down somewhat.
However, agriculture experts said that excessive rainfall has again become a major obstacle to early onion production this year.
Due to excessive rainfall in major onion-producing regions like Pabna, Faridpur, Rajbari, and other areas, these lands are still not suitable for onion cultivation even in mid-October.
Agro experts do not believe that these lands will be suitable for cultivation even within the next 15-20 days. As a result, they have indicated that the cultivation and production of early varieties of onions will be delayed this year as well.
According to DAE more than 24 per cent of the total domestic production comes from early-maturing bulb onions.
Sanjib Kumar Goswamy, the agriculture officer of Pabna's Santhia Upazila, told The Business Post, “Onion cultivation might be delayed this year. Due to daily rainfall, the lands designated for onion cultivation are becoming unsuitable for cultivation.
“Generally, farmers here start cultivating onions from October 20th. But considering the rain and the condition of the land, it seems that there will be a delay of one or two weeks this time.”
He added, “However, the cost of onion harvest will not increase this year. The prices of all things are almost the same as before. This year, we have set a target of cultivating onions on 16,620 hectares of land in our upazila.
“Of this, 1,600 hectares is for early maturing Kondo/Murikat varieties of onion. We hope to achieve the target cultivation.”
Almost the same thing was said by Shahana Pervin Labony, the agriculture officer of Pabna Sadar Upazila.
According to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), farmers cultivate early-maturing bulb onions every October.
Although this type of onion is cultivated on a small scale, it helps to maintain a regular supply in the market before the start of the seasonal cultivation, thus controlling the market. The bulbs of bulb onions need to be planted in the field.
The cultivation takes place throughout the month of October.
A report by the Department of Agricultural Marketing in 2021 stated that around 8.5 million tons of early-maturing onions are produced annually, which is more than 24% of the total onion production in the country.
According to a 2021 report by the Spice Research Center, Bangladesh's annual demand for onions is approximately 26.25 million tonnes. In contrast, onion production stands at 33.62 million tonnes.
After accounting for a 25 per cent – 30 per cent post-harvest loss in total onion production, the net production is around 23.53 million tonnes. There remains a shortfall of about 3 million tonnes, which needs to be imported.
Due to overland connectivity and relatively lower costs, the majority of imports come from India, accounting for 75 per cent – 80 per cent of the imported onions.
Onion, the most widely used spice in the world, is cultivated on 2.2 million hectares globally. The global production stands at 22.96 billion tonnes, with China and India being the top producers.
