According to EastFruit analysts, onion prices dropped sharply this week in Tajikistan. Currently, wholesale onions can be bought even at $0.68-0.70/kg, while prices reached $0.88/kg last week. Thus, the price decline was more than 20% over the week.
Onion prices in Tajikistan were among the highest in the region at the end of last week, which we wrote about in our detailed review of the region’s onion market. What happened? Why has the price of onions fallen so sharply?
According to Bakhtiyor Abduvokhidov, international consultant at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the main reason for the sharp decline in onion prices was the increase in average daily air temperatures. It is quite hot during the day even in the northern regions of Tajikistan – more than -20 C. This leads to rapid spoilage of onions stored in improper conditions without refrigeration and thermal insulation. Thus, onions that did not freeze during abnormal frosts can now deteriorate quickly due to abnormally high air temperatures.
Another reason, according to the FAO expert, is that the export of onions is still prohibited. This forces onion growers and traders to sell them since they are afraid of not having time to sell stocks before early onions of the new crop become available on the market.
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