Onion prices shoot up as new crop is delayed

Onion prices shoot up as new crop is delayed
RAKSHIT SONAWANE

NASHIK, OCT 11: The wholesale prices of onions at the Lasalgaon agriculture produce marketing committee's yard have shot up by about Rs 100 per quintal (Re 1 per kilo) over the past two days, as stocks of Rabi (summer) onions harvested in April-May have started depleting and the harvest of the new Kharif crop has been delayed for a month due to adverse weather conditions.

The wholesale prices at Lasalgon today ranged from Rs 131 per quintal to Rs 558 per quintal, the average price being Rs 460 per quintal (Rs 4.60 per kilo). The market received 350 tractor trailors (each carrying about 30 quintals) today. The prices on Monday were in the range of Rs 118 - Rs 451 per quintal. On Tuesday the prices shot up and onions were sold for prices ranging from Rs 101 to Rs 551 per quintal.

The sharp increase in the price was attributed to the depleting stocks of the Rabi onions harvested in May this year. Only three tractor trailorloads of the commodity was auctioned for Rs 558 per quintal today and only one tractor trailorload was auctioned for Rs 551 per quintal, an APMC spokesperson said.

He pointed out that the upward trend would continue till the arrival of the new crop. Traders said that apart from the depleting stocks of stored Rabi onions, the demand for the commodity in West Bengal, Delhi, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh had increased after Dassera.

They also said that there had been a shortfall in the new crop harvested in the southern states owing to inclement weather. Agricultural officers said that the upward trend in onion prices would continue as official surveys had predicted a 30 per cent shortfall in the Kharif onion production this season due to the prolonged dry spell and erratic rainfall.

In several onion growing pockets, seeds sown could not germinate due to the dry spell, which extended to over three weeks at a stretch. Resowing had to be resorted to in such areas.

Officials point out that due to the resowing of seeds the harvest would be delayed by about a month. The old rabi stocks would not last beyond November and in the lean period, there might be a scarcity. The kharif crop from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu would start arriving in November, but it may not br enough to meet the demand. In the Nashik region, the normal area under onion cultivation is around 15,000 hectares, which has reduced by about 20 per cent this kharif season as farmers, had faced a glut last season.

, preferred to restrict the area. Under normal circumstances the round-the-year supply of onions is ensured by Maharashtra and Gujarat which cultivate the commodity thrice in a year: The kharif variety (harvested during October-November), the late kharif variety (harvested during January-February) and the Rabi variety (harvested during April-May).

It may be recalled that the failure of the kharif crop due to adverse weather conditions in 1997-98 had led to a scarcity and increase in prices to an all-time high of Rs 4,000 per quintal.

Maharashtra tops in onion production in the country and ensures round the year supply. Out of the total annual national yield of about 42 lakh tonnes, Maharashtra produces over 14 lakh tonnes.