Farmers prefer to store than to sell onions at Rs 5/Kg

26 May 2011 Evaluate

Producers have preferred to store onions with the hope of getting better returns in future as the wholesale onion price are ruling firm at Rs 5/Kg for around a month. The supply of onions has dropped by 50% during the period to two of Asia's biggest mandies for onion trade - Lasalgaon and Pimpalgaon APMCs in Nashik district.

In the hope of better returns, farmers purchased expensive seeds during the Rabi sowing season when retail onion prices during last December and this January rose above Rs 70/Kg. Rabi production seems to have gone up by 15-20% over the past year and prices have cooled with an increase in acreage and productivity.

Nashik-based National Horticulture Research and Development Centre feel that the production has increased due to two factors. Firstly, there is about 5-10% increase in area due to very good onion prices in the sowing season and secondly, the crop quality and productivity is good as the winter season extended. It also stated that the average price of Rs 5/Kg is good because the production cost for the farmer is about Rs 3/Kg.

On the other hand, exports are also disappointing. The Government had increased the minimum export price to $650 a tonne when prices had skyrocketed but farmers and traders could not benefit from the policy shift. According to National Agricultural Co-operative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) data, as against 1.73 lakh tonne onions exported in April 2010, the country exported 1.51 lakh tonne in April 2011.

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