Potato Jumps Tk 5, Onion Cost Still Stubbornly High

DHAKA, November 21, 2025 – Consumers in the capital are facing renewed pressure on their weekly budgets. Specifically, the price of potatoes has jumped by Tk 5 per kilogram in Dhaka’s retail markets. Concurrently, the high cost of onions remains persistent, staying well above Tk 100 per kg.

Potato Price Surge Explained
The cost of potatoes, a staple food, rose from Tk 25 per kg to Tk 30 per kg in just one week. Significantly, this increase comes despite prices being much lower earlier in the season due to high production.

Experts point to two main factors driving this recent surge:

Late-Season Shortage: Primarily, stocks of potatoes from the previous harvest are running low. This is typical at the end of the storage season.

Weather Damage: Additionally, unseasonal rainfall earlier in November damaged early-variety potato crops, reducing the immediate supply of fresh produce.

Onion Prices Remain Elevated
Despite market instability, onion prices have not eased. Local onions are widely selling between Tk 100–120 per kg. This situation has continued for several weeks.

The persistent high price is the result of a recurring annual cycle, worsened by recent issues:

Stock Exhaustion: Fundamentally, local onion stocks are nearing depletion. New harvest varieties (like ‘murikata’) are not expected until late December.

Import Policy Hesitation: Crucially, the government had delayed import approvals to protect local farmers. This policy created a supply shortage.

Market Manipulation: Consumer groups and analysts blame syndicates and middlemen for manipulating the weak supply chain to exploit the situation, adding a significant burden on consumers.

Therefore, consumers should not expect immediate relief until the new winter crop floods the market or the government ensures sustained imports to counter price manipulation.