Onion production may dip 18% this Kharif

Onion production in the country is likely to decline by 18 per cent in this Kharif season due to inadequate and delayed rains at the time of planting and excess rains before harvest, an official statement said on Friday.

The total area under onion during the Kharif is also expected to dip by about 20 per cent, the statement said quoting a report of National Horticultural Research and Development Foundation.

Currently, stored onions are available mostly in Maharashtra and Gujarat and a stock of about 400,000 tonnes is still available during November.

Kharif onion harvesting has started in some parts of Maharashtra and Rajasthan, the statement said. The harvesting in Rajasthan will pick up after November 15. Fresh arrivals will begin from November-end to first fortnight of December in Haryana, Gujarat and Maharashtra. The prospects of late Kharif and Rabi onion have increased and availability is expected to be better for these crops December onwards, the statement added. Further, the public sector trading companies have placed orders to import 9.37 MT of pulses as on November, of which about 4.47 MT have arrived at ports.