Mohammed Badrul Ahsan :
Onion prices dropped to a four year-low this year mainly because of huge import of subsidised Indian onion which has dampened the demand for local varieties in the market, sources said.
According to them, the local markets see a supply glut of imported onion as India announced a five per cent subsidy on its exports while Bangladesh maintains zero import duty on imports.
While visiting some kitchen markets in the city this correspondent found that the local varieties of onion were selling at Tk18-Tk 24 a kg depending on quality. On the other hand, the imported onion was selling at Tk 15-Tk 22 a kg in the last two and a half weeks.
The data showed that the local variety of onion was selling at Tk 10-Tk 12 a kg at the farm level in last few days of February, much below the production costs of Tk 15-Tk 17 a kg.
Market experts suggested a farmer-friendly import policy to protect the interest of local farmers who are not getting prices that may meet their production costs this year.
The affected farmers should also be provided with cash subsidy so that they can minimise their losses, they said.
Onion prices dropped to a four year-low this year causing severe losses to the local growers, according to the data available with the Department of Agricultural Marketing (DAM).
DAM Assistant Director TM Rashed Khan said that the rising local production coupled with the availability of low-priced Indian onion caused the price fall.
As onion import enjoys a duty-free facility, the local traders are more interested in bringing cheaper onion from the neighbouring country which sees an abundant supply of the commodity.
The Bangladeshi traders now count an import cost of only US $ 125 to $ 150 a tonne as India has withdrawn the minimum export price (MEP) cap which was at $250 in June-July, he said.
According to a report published in the Times of India on February 1, the Indian government declared a 5.0 per cent cash subsidy on onion export until March 31 next.
The report said the price of the commodity fell to just Rupee 5,000-5,500 (Tk 6,000- Tk 6,600) a tonne at Lasalgaon, Nasik, the biggest onion hub in Asia amid bumper production of the crop there.
Indian export reached 1.64 million tonnes in the first seven months of the country’s current financial year (April-October’17). The figure was only 0.507 million tonnes in the corresponding period of last FY, the report said.
Md Abul Bashar Munshi, one of the leading traders in Faridpur of Bangladesh, said both the local traders and farmers in his locality were incurring losses due to the imports.
On the other hand, the local production also increased many times in the last few years as the farmers reaped profits, he added.
The recent price fall might leave the farmers disinterested in farming the crop in the next season and it ultimately might cause a supply crunch in the local market, he said.
“The government should impose restrictions on onion import to protect the local onion market”, he said.
Farm economist Prof Gazi M Jalil said the import duty on onion and few other essentials was removed years back following high prices of the produce.
The government authority concerned should put a better import policy in place for protecting the local agriculture market to the benefit of both farmers and consumers, he said.
Onion prices dropped to a four year-low this year mainly because of huge import of subsidised Indian onion which has dampened the demand for local varieties in the market, sources said.
According to them, the local markets see a supply glut of imported onion as India announced a five per cent subsidy on its exports while Bangladesh maintains zero import duty on imports.
While visiting some kitchen markets in the city this correspondent found that the local varieties of onion were selling at Tk18-Tk 24 a kg depending on quality. On the other hand, the imported onion was selling at Tk 15-Tk 22 a kg in the last two and a half weeks.
The data showed that the local variety of onion was selling at Tk 10-Tk 12 a kg at the farm level in last few days of February, much below the production costs of Tk 15-Tk 17 a kg.
Market experts suggested a farmer-friendly import policy to protect the interest of local farmers who are not getting prices that may meet their production costs this year.
The affected farmers should also be provided with cash subsidy so that they can minimise their losses, they said.
Onion prices dropped to a four year-low this year causing severe losses to the local growers, according to the data available with the Department of Agricultural Marketing (DAM).
DAM Assistant Director TM Rashed Khan said that the rising local production coupled with the availability of low-priced Indian onion caused the price fall.
As onion import enjoys a duty-free facility, the local traders are more interested in bringing cheaper onion from the neighbouring country which sees an abundant supply of the commodity.
The Bangladeshi traders now count an import cost of only US $ 125 to $ 150 a tonne as India has withdrawn the minimum export price (MEP) cap which was at $250 in June-July, he said.
According to a report published in the Times of India on February 1, the Indian government declared a 5.0 per cent cash subsidy on onion export until March 31 next.
The report said the price of the commodity fell to just Rupee 5,000-5,500 (Tk 6,000- Tk 6,600) a tonne at Lasalgaon, Nasik, the biggest onion hub in Asia amid bumper production of the crop there.
Indian export reached 1.64 million tonnes in the first seven months of the country’s current financial year (April-October’17). The figure was only 0.507 million tonnes in the corresponding period of last FY, the report said.
Md Abul Bashar Munshi, one of the leading traders in Faridpur of Bangladesh, said both the local traders and farmers in his locality were incurring losses due to the imports.
On the other hand, the local production also increased many times in the last few years as the farmers reaped profits, he added.
The recent price fall might leave the farmers disinterested in farming the crop in the next season and it ultimately might cause a supply crunch in the local market, he said.
“The government should impose restrictions on onion import to protect the local onion market”, he said.
Farm economist Prof Gazi M Jalil said the import duty on onion and few other essentials was removed years back following high prices of the produce.
The government authority concerned should put a better import policy in place for protecting the local agriculture market to the benefit of both farmers and consumers, he said.
