Bangladesh eyes Myanmar onions amid low supply from India

The Bangladesh market saw an influx of Myanmar onions when onion imports from India declined and the price surged.
The strong foreign demand pushed up onion prices to K3,250-3,300 per viss in onion-producing areas (Pakokku, Myingyan) at the end of October.
Some exporters who purchased Myanmar’s onion at K2,800-3,000 per viss reaped a handsome profit as onion price in Bangladesh’s market is approximately K3,800 per viss.
After a few days of a large entry of Myanmar’s onion to Bangladesh, onions from India also flowed into Bangladesh’s market, causing the price to plunge to K2,500 per viss.
Bangladesh turned to Myanmar’s onions as the prices of onions from India rose with the Dipavali celebration approaching.
When the onion price jumped to K3,200-3,300 per viss in the domestic market, the exporters faced losses as onion prices in Bangladesh decreased. If India’s onion output drops due to erratic weather and production covers only self-sufficiency, Bangladesh eyes Myanmar’s onions.
Newly harvested monsoon onions are likely to enter the market in the coming days. Onion prices hit new peaks in 2023, those traders who kept the stocks in their hands made great profits then.
Chinese onions were sold at K3,000 per viss in the Bayintnaung market when onion price climbed in November 2022. This year, they are barely found in the market, said Ko Yee, a potato and onion seller at Nyaungpinlay market. — TWA/KK