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Traders have lost interest in importing onions from neighbouring India due to a recent dramatic fall in domestic prices of the kitchen staple.
The price fall in the local market coincides with the harvest season beginning across the country's onion-growing hubs such as Pabna and Faridpur.
Farm-level prices to district wholesale rates have fallen to Tk 32-50 per kg, while retail prices have plunged to Tk 55-70 per kg nationwide, according to the Department of Agricultural Marketing (DAM).
The prices represent a Tk 30-40 decline in both retail and wholesale levels within just a week.
"Importing onions will not be economically viable for the next two and a half months during this peak harvesting period for the seasonal onion [haali peyaj]," said Hazi Mohammad Mazed, the owner of Raj Trading at Shyambazar and general secretary of the Shyambhazar Onion Wholesale Merchants Association.
Mazed, who is also an importer, said even if India allowed private-sector imports now, the minimum cost would be Tk 125 per kg due to their minimum export price of US $800 per tonne with an additional 40-per-cent export duty.
Local wholesale prices in Pabna, Rajbari, Gopalganj, Faridpur and Jhinedah have dropped to a maximum of Tk 50 per kg, he added.
Rostam Ali, another trader and importer at the same market, also said onion import will not be economically viable now.
He said imports are unnecessary during this peak harvest. Local onion production has been higher this year compared to last year due to favourable weather conditions.
Onion prices skyrocketed to a record high of Tk 120-130 per kg at retail level just before the beginning of Ramadan, compared to the current Tk 55-70 per kg.
The high prices prompted the government to request India to export onions under its quota facility for neighbours. The Indian government also assured Bangladesh of exporting 50,000 tonnes of onions.
However, not a single Indian onion entered Bangladesh till mid-March.
Mamun Hossain, joint secretary of the Bangladesh Agricultural Farm Labour Federation, said full-fledged harvesting of haali onions began last week in Pabna, Bogura, Kushtia, Faridpur and Jashore. While farmers are currently receiving Tk 25-35 per kg, this translates to a meagre profit margin of only 5-6 per cent.
He argued that all onion imports should be restricted for the next two months.
This, he says, is necessary to protect the country's 2.2 million onion farmers from losses, especially considering the near self-sufficiency in onion production achieved over the past three years.
Meanwhile, value chain expert Prof Gazi M Jalil said that local supply and demand usually dictate import decisions.
Given the current harvest and drastic price decline, the expert believes private sector onion imports are unlikely.
He called for both timely export-import policies and effective market monitoring to maintain reasonable prices for essential goods.
Bangladesh produces 2.7 million tonnes of onions annually, with a demand of 3.0 million tonnes.
The country usually imports an additional 0.6-1.0 million tonnes to bridge the supply-demand gap. This year, however, the target is to achieve domestic onion production exceeding 4.0 million tonnes.