Onion price slump pushes Rajshahi farmers towards heavy losses

Onion growers in Bangladesh's Rajshahi district are facing mounting financial hardship as a sharp decline in market prices, coupled with rising production costs and post-harvest losses, has significantly eroded their profit margins.

Farmers in Puthia Upazila said onion prices have plummeted to between Tk 800 and Tk 1,000 per maund, depending on the variety, compared with Tk 2,500 to Tk 3,000 during the same period in previous years. They argued that the current market rates are insufficient even to recover production costs, leaving many cultivators on the brink of substantial financial losses. Farmer Abdul Momin, who brought his produce to the Baneshwar wholesale market, described the situation as the worst he had witnessed in two decades, lamenting that the proceeds from selling a maund of onions now barely cover the cost of a kilogram of beef.

Growers also reported significant storage-related losses, saying prolonged preservation causes onions to lose weight through dehydration, while a considerable portion of the harvest deteriorates due to spoilage. They further alleged irregularities in weighing practices at wholesale markets, which they claim have compounded their financial distress at a time when prices have already fallen to unsustainable levels.

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Local traders attributed the downturn primarily to a bumper harvest that has substantially increased market supply. They said many farmers, unable to store their produce for extended periods, are rushing to sell large quantities simultaneously, intensifying downward pressure on prices. Puthia Upazila Agriculture Officer Smriti Rani Sarkar said abundant domestic production, coupled with additional imports, had contributed to the market glut. She expressed cautious optimism that prices could recover gradually once supply conditions begin to normalise.