Onions Bring Tears To Farmers

MUMBAI: Onion prices, which had shot up sharply a few months back, have now tumbled on mounting arrivals and subdued export demand, and are expected to remain weak for the next two months, traders said.
“Arrivals have nearly doubled in last fortnight. Demand isn’t changed that much,” said Vilas Bhujbal, a trader based in Pune.

Wholesale price in the country’s largest onion trading hub, Lasalgaon in Maharashtra, fell to its lowest level this year at Rs 373 per 100 kg on Wednesday, from a peak of Rs 1,951 on October 1.

“The arrivals will rise further in coming weeks. Prices will remain weak or may fall by another Rs 50 to Rs 100 per 100 kg,” said CB Holkar, chairman of National Agricultural Co-operative Marketing Federation of India (Nafed).
Congestion in the ports was affecting exports, increasing availability in the domestic market and pulling down prices, he said.

The kharif season onion harvest contains high moisture and reduces its shelf life, forcing farmers to bring their produce to market as early as possible, traders said. They said prices will remain weak for the next two months till kharif season arrivals are over.

In mid-2007 onion prices had risen substantially, which led farmers to cultivate more of the tuber crop, leading to a glut. Onion production in kharif season is likely to rise 30% to 1.7 million tonnes on increased acreage, the National Horticulture Research and Development Foundation estimated earlier.