Onion prices are falling in Faridpur. Selling a maund of onions buys a kilo of beef, but the same money does not buy a kilo of hilsa. The falling price has left onion farmers deeply frustrated.

This was confirmed by checking various places in the district on Thursday (19 March).

Saltha upazila of Faridpur is known as the "onion capital". A visit to Saltha Sadar Bazar, Thenthenia, Balia, Majhardia, Nakulhati, Phulbaria, Sonapur and other markets found that this week a maund (42 kg) of good-quality onions is selling for at most Tk 700 to Tk 1,100 (Tk 17 to Tk 27 a kg).

Yet small hilsa (two to three to a kilo) are selling in the markets for Tk 800 to Tk 1,500 a kg, so a farmer selling a maund of onions cannot buy a kilo of hilsa. Beef, meanwhile, is selling at Tk 750 to Tk 850 a kg.

According to the upazila agriculture office, the onion cultivation target in the upazila's eight unions this season is 11,250 hectares, and cultivation will exceed the target at 11,500 hectares. Murikata onions are grown on 200 hectares and onion seed on 50 hectares. Overall, there is a chance of a bumper onion crop in the upazila this season. Lifting of hali onions has begun in some areas, and many are harvesting early.

Rezaul Karim, an onion farmer from Boalmari, told Jagonews24: "A kilo of hilsa of various sizes costs Tk 800 to Tk 1,500. Yesterday I sold a maund of onions at Sahasrail Bazar and went to buy a kilo of hilsa, but the money wasn't enough. A kilo of beef sells for Tk 750 to Tk 850. So instead of hilsa, I bought a kilo of beef with the money from a maund of onions."

Onion farmers in the upazila say more onions were grown this season than last year. Dealers have formed a syndicate to create an artificial fertiliser shortage, forcing them to buy fertiliser at higher prices. Rising seed prices and labour wages have also raised production costs. For these reasons, it has cost farmers Tk 1,200 to Tk 1,500 per maund. They demand that onion imports be stopped at the start of the season and the price kept at Tk 2,500 to Tk 3,000.

Expressing frustration, onion farmer Akram Molla said that from the middle to the end of the season, onions pass into the hands of hoarders, so when prices rise then, farmers gain nothing. Onions cannot be stored for lack of enough storage facilities. Many cannot raise seedlings because seed is so expensive, and must buy hali onion seedlings at high prices to plant. Seedlings are often damaged in transport, which also hurts production. Middlemen and traders harass onion farmers in various ways too. If this continues, farmers will turn away from onion farming, he said.

Ershad Molla, an onion trader at Saltha market, said supply is plentiful ahead of Eid, so prices are low everywhere from the wholesale depots to the markets. Immature, cut and cracked onions also fetch low prices. Many wholesale depots in Dhaka are closed ahead of Eid, which has affected onion prices. Prices may rise in a few days, he said.

Saltha upazila agriculture officer Sudarshan Sikder said onion cultivation will exceed the target this season. Some dissatisfaction has been expressed among farmers over prices. He hoped farmers would get a fair price, and said the question of raising incentives and of onion storage facilities would be put to higher authorities.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.