Following a surge by 80% in India’s green onion prices, Nepal and Bangladesh are facing a similar spike in this staple of Asian cooking.
The culprit is inflation, which has battered India for the better part of 2023. Compounded by the sporadic monsoon rains of March, 2023 that destroyed local crops, inflation has made food costly.
Wholesale onion prices in India shot up from 500 Rupees per quintal (100 kg) in March to RS 2,050 ($0.25 per kg) in mid-August, 2023.
Retail prices of onions in India start at $0.60 on August 29, 2023, the 74th highest in the world.
The immediate cause of the pricey bulbs is the lack of current stocks in stores. Secondly, the acreage this year is lower than usual due to rain damage in spring. Thirdly, onions in India grow only seasonally, unlike other vegetables.
The government of India has already enforced 40% duty on onion exports to deter exports and retain sufficient local supplies.
Onion and tomato prices are even pushing customers off luxuries to manage necessities. Other popular consumer niches such as fashion goods are feeling the pinch from low sales across India.
As a result, India’s economy will derail by 6% in the current financial year, 2023-24. This is especially because 60 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) relies on private consumption.
In Bangladesh, a kilogram of onions costs as much as 100 taka ($0.92) at retail, an increase by 67% from the 60TK ($0.55) per kg in summer, 2022.
The government in Dhaka now thinks of importing onions from anywhere across the globe. This will not help much as other countries outside the Indian subcontinent are facing the same dilemma.
In Nepal, analysts cite the 40% slap on Indian onion imports as likely to spike onion prices in Kathmandu. A similar happening occurred in 2019 when India had imposed an export ban on onions.
In neighboring Pakistan, the retail price is quite low at $0.28 per kg. However, the country raised its export duty on onions by 180% in February, 2023.
Japan, on the other hand, has the highest current retail price at $5.86 per kilogram. This is surprising as in June, 2023, there was a 15% slump at the farm gate to a dream price of 78 Yen ($0.53) per kg. The country experiences rapid fluctuations in onion price. In June, 2022, the wholesale price of onions in Tokyo had stood at 200 Yen ($1.23) per kg due to volatile supply.
In Kenya, the retail price on August 28, 2023 rose by KSH100 ($0.69) to settle at a new high of KSH180 ($1.24) per kg.
The price in the United States is currently the 37th highest globally, at $1.72 per kg.
Puerto Rico has the highest onion price in South America at $5.14 per kg. This is due to extremely high farm gate prices that farmers charge traders.