According to farmers in Bangladesh’s main producing districts, onion production costs have almost doubled this year thanks to the higher price of Kondo onion bulbs, which are planted in October and harvested in mid-November.
Kondo onions are an early season variety of the vegetable and are grown from October to mid-November to ensure local markets have sufficient supply before the main crop is harvested later in March.
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In addition, farmers have to pay significantly more for labor and land leases, while untimely rain this month is delaying cultivation in some areas.
As such, there is no scope for an early stabilization of onion prices, they say.
“Each basket (about 37 kilograms) of onion bulbs currently costs up to Tk 8,000, compared to between Tk 4,000 and Tk 3,500 last year,” said Md Samsul Islam, a farmer in Sujanagar upazila of Pabna.
Farmers have to pay significantly more for labor and leased land, while untimely rain this month is delaying cultivation in some areas
Moreover, labor costs have increased to Tk 500 daily, while previously it was Tk 400.
Md Kamruzzaman, another farmer from the same area, said land leasing costs have also become obscenely high, with the price per bigha currently reaching Tk 20,000, compared to Tk 8,000 in 2023.
Against this backdrop, Islam says the production cost is currently above Tk 1.2 lakh per bigha, while last year it was around Tk 60,000.
“Last year I grew the Kondo variety on three bighas, but this year I could only grow one bigha due to the excessive production costs.”
Shaheda Begum, a leading onion grower in Faridpur, said the higher price for Kondo bulbs is a result of abrupt price hikes throughout the year.
Dr. Abu Jafar Al Monsur, deputy director of monitoring at the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), reiterated the same.
“Onion prices have been above Tk 3,000 per month for most of this year. So onion bulb prices are also high,” he said.
According to DAE data, about 2,665 million hectares of land was brought under cultivation to produce 39,112 million tons of onions in the fiscal year 2023-2024.
Meanwhile, the cultivation target has been set at 2,602 lakh hectares to produce 39,663 lakh tonnes of onions in the upcoming season of financial year 2024-25.
“We expect high yields this year. Last year we got 14.68 tons of onions from each hectare. Now we want to get 15.24 tons from each hectare,” said Monsur.
However, a recent visit to the two largest onion producing districts – Pabna and Faridpur – revealed that most farmers had postponed cultivation due to bad weather.
Only 2,000 of the 8,500 hectares of land in Pabna meant for onion cultivation were brought under cultivation as of October 25 this year, said Md Ashikur Rahman, sub-assistant agricultural officer of the Pabna DAE.
Previously, almost 50 percent of the cultivation was ready by the middle of the month, he says.
Md Shahaduzzaman, deputy director of the Faridpur DAE, said onion cultivation in his district has also slowed due to rain.
“When farmers started onion cultivation in mid-October, bad weather and rain hampered their efforts. However, now local farmers are busy growing onions,” he added.
As such, DAE officials informed that the cultivation of the Kondo variety has been delayed by an average of one to two weeks due to bad weather.
They also said that the excessive production costs of the Kondo variety could affect onion seed prices in the coming months.
“Each kg of onion seed was available for Tk 3,500 to Tk 4,000 a month ago. However, now each kg of onion seed is being sold for Tk 6,000 to Tk 6,500,” said Md Samsul Alam, another farmer in Sujanagar upazila.
But even as the production cost of onions has risen rapidly, farmers are busy with the cultivation of the crop in full swing, he added.
According to Pabna DAE sources, a total of 52,801 hectares of land in Pabna has been brought under cultivation to produce 7.82 lakh tonnes of onions this year.
But because cultivation costs have risen, the price of onions will also be higher next season, farmers said.