Farmers and stockists in Pabna's Santhia who held back onions in hope of a better price are now in trouble, Samakal reports. The upazila's markets pay Tk 1,000 to 1,100 a maund, while agriculture officials and farmers put this season's cost of production at about Tk 1,500 a maund. Even at the height of the harvest the price was Tk 1,200 to 1,300. In other years these markets paid about Tk 3,000 to 4,000 a maund at this time.
According to the upazila agriculture office, Santhia grew onions on 16,650 hectares last season against a production target of 236,756 tonnes and harvested 261,647 tonnes. Good weather gave many farmers 70 to 80 maunds of local onions a bigha, and 100 to 120 maunds of the hybrid variety Sukhsagar. But the hybrid rots faster than local onions, adding to the losses. Stored onions are losing about 15 kg a maund to rot and drying.
Over the past week, at the Boailmari, Bongram, Kashinathpur, Dhulauri and Karamja Chaturhat markets, many farmers took sacks of onions home again for want of the price they expected. Alamgir Hossain of Gourigram, who grew about 300 maunds and stored them expecting the usual seasonal rise, said the present price does not even cover his costs.
Another farmer, Shahin Alam, harvested about 500 maunds and still has about 300 at home. "Onions have become a bone in my throat: I can neither sell them nor keep them," he said, adding that prices may fall further once the new muri-kata onions reach the market. Abdul Barek of Baliakandi got more than 250 maunds from four bighas and still holds about 200; he puts his cost at nearly Tk 2,000 a maund. Aftab Ali Mondal of Chakpatta said he borrowed to grow the crop and cannot now recover his costs.
Saddak Hossain, a wholesaler at Kalu Enterprise in Boailmari market, said the harvest was good and farmers still hold a lot of onions. The area used to grow mostly the local Taherpuri variety at 50 to 55 maunds a bigha, he said; now Indian hybrids yielding 100 to 120 maunds a bigha dominate, so more onions reach the markets.
Upazila agriculture officer Sajib Al Maruf said onion production must be planned against market demand, surplus onions exported, and storage improved. The report is Samakal's.
Photo: Salim_Khandoker / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Source: Samakal
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