Photo : BSS

RANGPUR, Jan 13, 2025 (BSS) – Plentiful supply of newly harvested onion has helped push prices of the essential commodity down bringing relief to common people in Rangpur agricultural region.

Market sources and officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) officials said that the newly harvested onions are being sold at rates between Taka 45 and Taka 50 per kilogram in local markets.

 Vegetable retailer Hafizur Rahman at Rangpur City Bazar today told BSS that onions were being sold at rates between Taka 95-115 per kg in local markets last October in Rangpur region like elsewhere in the country.

Later, onion prices started coming down from mid-December with the arrival of newly harvested tuber varieties of local onions in local markets.

“Newly harvested onions were being sold at rates between Taka 70 and Taka 72 per kilogram from mid-December and the prices now came down to Taka 45 to Taka 50 per kg in local markets,” Hafizur Rahman said.

Similarly, vegetable retailers Belal Mian at Palichara market in Rangpur Sadar upazila and Rashedul Islam at Jaigirhat market in Mithapukur upazila said the newly harvested onions are being sold at rates between Taka 45 and Taka 50 per kilogram.

Meanwhile, farmers and DAE officials are expecting a bumper production of onion during the current 2024-2025 Rabi season in Rangpur agriculture region where farming of the essential spicy crop still continues.

Enthusiastic farmers are now harvesting the tuber variety of onion to reap better profits and also continuing transplantation of onion seedlings as the process will continue till February next.
 
Considering the growing demand for onion and its frequent shortages, the DAE has set an all-time record target of producing 1,21,151 tonnes of onion from 10,149 hectares of land for the region in the current 2024-2025 Rabi season.

“So far, farmers have cultivated onion in 8,817 hectares of land, 86.88 percent against the fixed farming target for all five districts in the region,” said Additional Director of the DAE for Rangpur region Agriculturist Md Obaidur Rahman Mondal.

The interim government through the DAE and other agricultural organisations has taken different pragmatic steps to further increase production of onion this season.

During the last (2023-2024) Rabi season, farmers produced 1,18,491 tonnes of onion from 10,006 hectares of land against the fixed target of producing 1,13,976 tonnes of onion from 9,755 hectares of land in the region.

“Meanwhile, farmers have already harvested the tuber variety of onion in 935 hectares of land producing 11,043 tonnes of onion with an average yield rate of 11.81 tonnes per hectare of land,” Mondal said.

In recent years, farmers have been cultivating onions on more land to further increase its production, after getting repeated bumper production, lucrative prices and government incentives such as free seeds and fertilizers.

Talking to BSS, farmers Minhajul Abedin and Altaf Hossain of different villages in Rangpur said they are happy getting better prices of newly harvested onion and transplanting onion seedlings in their farmlands to further enhance production.