Bumper onion production brings no smile to Faridpur farmers

UNB, Faridpur :
Bumper production of onion in the district turns out to be a curse for farmers and traders as consignments of imported onions from India are flooding the market.
According to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), 3,33,286 tonnes of onion has been produced in the district in the current season, up by 30,000 tonnes compared to the output of last year.
During a visit to the local wholesale markets, our Faridpur correspondent found out a dearth of customers in spite of the arrival of a good amount of freshly harvested onions.
Habibur Rahman, a farmer from Atghar upazila, said they are failing to collect the production cost due to the price fall.
The traders who bought per mound onion at Tk 12,000-13,000 are now selling it at lower prices, said Ananda Saha, an onion trader of Kanaipur Bazar.
If the government had restricted the onion import during the harvests, the market price would have remained steady, he observed.