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The Bangladesh Mission in Myanmar has suggested considering import of onion from the next-door neighbour immediately to arrest a possible surge in prices of the widely consumed item in the local market, particularly for the month of Ramadan, sources said.
"Since the month of Ramadan is knocking at the door, it could be a critical and profitable period to purchase onion from Myanmar," it said in a letter sent on Tuesday, providing the local market information of Myanmar.
Myanmar is planning to export surplus onion during fiscal year (FY) 2023-2024 and its Trade Promotion Organization has already announced to export approximately 0.1 million tonnes of onion in the FY.
The letter also stated that the Myanmar Kitchen Crops Association (MYCA) speculates 30,000, 15,000, 20,000 and 35,000 tonnes of onion to be exported in the first, second, third and fourth quarters of the FY respectively.
In the Q1, hoarders will purchase and store a bulk amount of summer onion. Some onion farmers of Myanmar are speculating to receive higher prices than previous years.
The Q2 is the rainy season in Myanmar when the government targets to export less quantity and in Q3 domestic prices remain higher.
Myanmar's domestic consumption per year is approximately 0.667 million tonnes. In the current FY, Myanmar is expecting a surplus of 0.597 million tonnes.
The Myanmar government has announced strong market monitoring efforts so that the official notification on increased exports does not spike prices of the item.
The government of Bangladesh is trying to stabilise the prices of essential items, including onion, throughout the year, said a senior official at the commerce ministry.
However, the price of onion is now at a lower level in the local market. It is being sold at Tk 30-35 per kg due to the harvesting season, said a source.
The gross local production of onion would be 2.73 million tonnes at present as compared to the country's annual demand for the spice item, more or less 2.5 million tonnes, according to official statistics.
However, the country has to import 0.6-0.7 million tonnes of onion annually due to a substantial production loss of the perishable item.
The monthly demand for onion in the country is around 0.2 million tonnes, but it generally increases to around 0.4 million tonnes in the month of Ramadan.