Onion prices are high at the moment, but India has already lifted its ban on onion exports, so prices will fall, Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur Razzaque has said. Onions will not stay at Tk 110 a kg, he said.

The minister told parliament this on Thursday during question hour, answering a supplementary question from Shirin Akhter, MP and general secretary of a faction of the JSD. It is now onion season, he said. Onions are coming from neighbouring India and will also come from other countries at this time. "Under no circumstances will onions stay at Tk 110 a kg. The price will certainly come down. We have done a lot of research on onions, scientists have developed many high-quality varieties, and it is now possible to produce 20, 25, even 30 tonnes of onions per hectare."

On the price of cardamom, the minister said a lot of research had been done on spices and a research centre has been set up in Bogura, where scientists are working. Because of nature, not all spices grow in Bangladesh, and many have to be imported. Those that do grow here are being produced, and the government gives farmers who grow such spices incentives or loans at 4 per cent interest. Farmers who grow spices and onions can take loans at only 4 per cent interest.

Cardamom prices are high on the international market itself, he said. Vegetable prices are also relatively high this time. Describing a dilemma, he said that on one side farmers do not get a fair price for their crops given what it costs to grow vegetables, while abnormal prices are not acceptable either. "We are in a position where we face a dilemma. If prices are high, it is very hard for low-income people; if they fall too low, farmers cannot meet their household and other costs by selling their crops. The price must stay at a tolerable level. But it has to be accepted that the costs of vegetables and various kinds of transport are excessive."

Answering another supplementary question from Ayen Uddin, the minister said onions had caused some anger and panic among people. Prices are still somewhat high but stable. If there is no natural disaster, there will be no onion crisis in future; if imports are needed, arrangements will be made in advance. Various steps have been taken for local onion storage so that farmers get a fair price.

He said the country produces 23 to 24 lakh tonnes of onions, but demand is 30 to 32 lakh tonnes, and the rest is met by imports. Last season heavy rain ruined onions in the fields, creating a large shortfall. When neighbouring India suddenly banned onion exports, prices in the country shot up and "we lost control of the market". The government quickly imported onions from China, Egypt and several other countries to try to bring the market under control.

The agriculture minister added that the government has taken the onion issue seriously this time. Because of various incentives in the field, more onions will be produced than in the past. "In this case we will stop imports and make sure farmers who grow onions in the country get a fair price." Onions are perishable, he said, and at the height of the season farmers are forced to sell them very cheaply, which discourages them from growing onions. Various plans have been made so that this does not happen in future.

Source: Amader Shomoy. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.