Bangladesh seeks alternative sources for potatoes and onions Beyond India

Bangladesh is exploring alternative sources for importing potatoes and onions to ensure an uninterrupted supply, shifting away from its sole dependence on India.  

The Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC) already found some potential sources and reported it to the commerce ministry last week. The ministry later held meetings with importers, the agriculture ministry, the National Board of Revenue (NBR), and other stakeholders over the potential alternatives on Thursday. Some more meetings are likely to take place in the coming days. 

Selim Uddin, secretary to the commerce ministry, told Prothom Alo on Thursday, “The BTTC has identified alternative sources to keep the price and supply of potatoes and onions stable. We would urge importers to consider these alternatives.”

Bangladesh is solely dependent on India for importing potatoes, while onions are mainly sourced from India and Myanmar, with smaller quantities coming from Pakistan, China, and Turkey.

In its report, the BTTC mentioned Germany, Egypt, China, and Spain as potential alternatives for potato imports, and suggested China, Pakistan and Turkey for onions. 

The commission cited the rising prices of onions and potatoes in the Indian market as the reason behind the initiative to search for alternative sources. The Indian authorities often take various decisions to discourage exports, in an effort to keep the local market stable. Therefore, it suggested encouraging the Bangladeshi importers to go for new sources. 

The BTTC report also provided estimates for the potential import prices of potatoes and onions from the alternative sources. 

For potatoes, the prices per tonne are projected to be $250–500 from Germany, $300–400 from Spain, $550–700 from China, and $750–800 from Egypt. Similarly, the estimated prices of onions are $430–650 per ton from China, $500–650 from Pakistan, and $600–700 from Turkey.

The BTTC highlighted the price trend of the two commodities in India over the past year. For onions, the per tonne price was $564 on 2 December, up from $510 a month ago and $244 a year ago. It marks a monthly rise of 10.59 per cent and an annual rise of 131 per cent. 

For potatoes, the per tonne price was $355 on 2 December, compared to $329 a month earlier and $266 a year ago. It marks a monthly price rise of 7.5 per cent and an annual rise of 34 per cent.

The report did not mention the retail prices of the commodities in India, but noted the price trend in the local retail market. Potatoes are now selling at Tk 75–80 per kilogram, a 24 per cent rise from the previous month and 78 per cent rise from the previous year. Onions are priced at Tk 115–130 per kg, marking a 12 per cent fall from the previous month and a 2 per rise from the previous year. 

Over the alternative sources, BTTC chairman Moinul Khan told Prothom Alo on Saturday, “It is risky to depend on one or two sources. For instance, some 40-50 onion trucks used to come daily from India through the Hili land port; now it is down to 10–12. We are searching for alternatives to deal with such disruptions.” 

Due to short distance, transportation costs and delivery times remain lower for imports from India and Myanmar. In this regard, Moinul Khan said costs from alternative sources are comparable in some cases. “The price does not seem a big issue when it comes to maintaining the supply system. We have to consider it.” 

In the BTTC report, the annual onion demand in Bangladesh is estimated at 2.6–2.8 million tonnes. In the 2023–24 fiscal year, 3.9 million tonnes were produced locally, while the actual supply was around 2.7 million tonnes after deducting around 30 per cent as storage losses and seed use.

However, the traders believe the production data is overstated, which eventually leads to imports. Despite good domestic production, at least 30 per cent of local demand for onions is met through imports. 

The BTTC noted that a total of 950,000 tonnes of onions were imported from India, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, China and Myanmar in 2023-34 fiscal year. 

For potatoes, the annual demand is 8.5–9 million tonnes, while local production stands at 10.6 million tonnes, with a net supply of 7.9 million tonnes after deducting losses and seeds. In 2023-24, around 150,000 tonnes of potatoes were imported from India to bridge the gap.

Selim Raihan, executive director of the South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM), lauded the initiative to diversify import sources.

While speaking to Prothom Alo on Sunday, he said, “It is necessary to explore alternative sources not just for potatoes and onions but for other essential commodities too. I appreciate the BTTC initiative. Another crucial issue is to find out the usual trend of supply shortages in advance and act preemptively.”