Dhaka: Agriculture Minister Aminur Rashid today told the parliament that the government has developed new storage facilities for the onion growers to help eliminate crisis of the essential commodity in the country. The minister, who is also in-charge of the ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, said this while responding to a question raised by treasury bench member Anisur Rahman (Madaripur-3) during the question-answer session in the Jatiya Sangsad.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the newly implemented system does not require electricity and allows onions to be stored through an air-passing system. This innovative system has already been rolled out across 68 onion growing areas, creating significant interest among growers. The minister emphasized that these storage facilities will benefit both growers and consumers by ensuring a steady supply of onions throughout the year, thereby addressing the country’s onion shortage.
Bangladesh ranks among the world’s top producers of onions, with an annual production of approximately 2.5-3.8 million metric tons (MT). Despite this high output, the nation faces a yearly deficit of 0.7-1 million MT due to substantial post-harvest storage losses. This shortfall necessitates reliance on imports from India and other countries to meet a total demand of about 3.5-4.00 million MT.
In response to another question from Barrister A M Mahbub Uddin Khokon (Noakhali-1), the minister revealed that various fertilizers have been distributed at subsidized rates to farmers until March of the 2025-’26 fiscal year. The government has distributed 26 lakh tonnes of urea, 9.50 lakh tonnes of triple super phosphate (TSP), 10.50 lakh tonnes of muriate of potash (MoP), and 16.85 lakh tonnes of diammonium phosphate (DAP), backed by an agricultural subsidy of Taka 16,240 crore.
Addressing a query from independent candidate Barrister Rumeen Farhana (Brahmanbaria-2), the agriculture minister confirmed that the country has enough fertilizer stock until mid-July. The government typically imports urea fertilizer from Qatar and Saudi Arabia and has already dispatched a representative to Qatar for further imports. The minister expressed optimism that the country would not face any fertilizer crisis in the future. Additionally, the government is encouraging the private sector to import non-urea fertilizers to ensure availability for farmers’ cultivation needs.