TDS Desk:

Frequent loadshedding and extreme heat in Dinajpur are causing imported onions to rot in warehouses.

This has forced importers to sell the onions at lower prices or discard them entirely, leading to significant financial losses.

Nur Islam, who came to Hili to buy onions, said: “We purchase onions from the warehouses of various importers at the Hili land port and sell them in local markets. However, due to the excessive heat in the past few days, the quality of the onions has deteriorated.

He added that despite buying bags of onions, 2-3kg per bag rot by the time the buyers reach home. This causes a loss of Tk200-250 per bag.

Despite buying sorted bags of onions, 2-3kg per bag rot by the time they reach home, causing a loss of Tk200-250 per bag. This situation is currently making onion trading difficult.

Another onion buyer, Saidur Rahman, said: “We purchase good-quality onions, but due to the heat, many of them rot and spoil. As a result, we cannot sell them at the purchase price. This situation has raised concerns about losing our investment in the onion business.”

Abdus Salam, an onion trader at the Hili land port, said: “To maintain the supply and price stability of onions in the domestic market, we are importing onions from India. However, we are facing losses from these imports as it takes 4-5 days for onions to travel from the Indian market to the port, during which time some quality degradation occurs.

“After arriving in the country, the situation worsens with the intense heat. Additionally, frequent power outages, 8-10 hours a day, exacerbate the problem. Onions, being perishable, spoil quickly in the heat. Although we try to mitigate the damage with fans in the warehouses, the ongoing power issues are causing the imported onions to rot.”

He added that while some onions can be sold at Tk84-85 per kg, others have to be sold at Tk40-50. “The imbalance between higher import costs and lower selling prices is leading to increasing losses.”

Biswajit Sarkar. AGM(O&M) Hili Sub Zonal Office, Dinajpur Palli Bidyut Samity, said: “In Hili, our peak hour electricity demand is 8.5 megawatts, but we receive only 3.5 megawatts. During off-peak hours, our demand is 5.5 megawatts, but we get the same 3.5 megawatts. The increase in loadshedding is mainly due to disruptions in production at the Barapukuria Thermal Power Plant.”

India has lifted the 40% duty on onion exports after four months and nine days in Bangladesh which is expected to increase imports and bring down onion prices in the local market.

The decision was communicated to Indian traders through a circular signed by Santosh Kumar Sarangi, Director General Foreign Trade (DGFT) in India, on Friday evening.

Indian exporters shared the notification with Bangladeshi importers, who anticipate that the removal of the duty will stabilize onion prices in Bangladesh.