Indian onion exporters are facing heavy losses as nearly 30,000 tonnes of onions rot in West Bengal’s Malda district following Bangladesh’s suspension of imports.
Malda, which borders Bangladesh’s Chapainawabganj district, is a key supply route for onion shipments through the Mahadipur–Sonamasjid land crossing. But with imports now on hold, truckloads of onions are spoiling near the border.

A field visit to the Mahadipur–Sonamasjid area shows onions being sold for just 2 rupees per kg, equivalent to about 2.73 Bangladeshi taka.

A 50-kg sack is going for only 100 rupees, or roughly 136 taka. In contrast, the same onions sell for 20 to 22 rupees per kg in Malda’s main markets only 7 km away.
Exporters say they stockpiled onions based on verbal assurances from Bangladeshi importers, who are now refusing to take delivery.

“At this time of year, demand from Bangladesh is usually high,” said Sirajul Sheikh, an onion trader and exporter in Malda.
“Some of us stored 50 trucks’ worth, some 70, and some even more, brought in from Indore and Nashik. Now the onions are rotting, and we are being forced to sell them locally for 2, 6, 8 or 10 rupees per kilo. We won’t recover the value of the onions, let alone the transport costs.”
Another exporter, Jakirul Islam, said he previously sent 30 to 35 truckloads of onions to Bangladesh daily. “Now they are spoiling in my trucks, and I am selling them for almost nothing.”

Exporters in Malda said the crisis began after Bangladeshi importers issued a notice on November 16 stating that the Department of Agricultural Extension under Bangladesh’s Agriculture Ministry had temporarily suspended onion imports from India.
Ujjal Saha, secretary of the West Bengal Exporters Coordination Committee, told Indian daily Millennium Post that traders invested heavily to supply onions to Bangladesh and are now being forced to sell at giveaway prices.
“This is an unimaginable loss. If the border does not reopen soon, many exporters will be ruined,” he warned.