Poor monsoon hits onion output prices may rise

The availability of onion is likely to be low and its price might rise due to a delayed new crop.

According to data collected by the National Horticulture Research and Development Foundation (NHRDF), the kharif onion crop in the country is 30-40 per cent less compared to last year. The harvest will be delayed by a month as sowing started in late July and arrivals will start only by the end of October, after completing the four-month cycle. Usually, the onion crop arrives by the end of September, said official sources.

In the process, the government is giving emphasis to the onion crop in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, where it is grown through planting of bulblets as against sowing of seeds in other parts. Officials said the Union agriculture ministry has already announced diesel and seed subsidy for farmers. Farmers are also being advised to grow green onion. “This could cater to the local demand, whereas the normal onion could be sent to far-off places where there is no availability,” said official sources.

Maharashtra and Gujarat are the two major states where late kharif onion is grown. Currently, prices are hovering at Rs 3,300-4,000 a quintal across varieties in various markets. Incidentally, while wholesale onion prices have gone up month-over-month in July-August, prices have, in fact, declined across markets substantially year-on-year for the same period in 2011.

Onion production in Nashik in Maharastra and Karnataka was affected due to a late monsoon and preference of farmers to grow soybean and maize as substitute crops due to better prices. Due to deficient rain, farmers have now shifted to pearl millets (jowar), also fetching high price as fodder. However, local sources said as the monsoon advanced by the end of July and August, onion sowing has gained pace.

“Transplanting of seedling started from mid-July and will go upto mid-August. Seed sowing is expected to start after the first fortnight of August and will go upto mid-September,” said official sources involved in onion production. While the complete harvest will not arrive till the end of September-mid October, there will be availability around October-December, they added.

Similarly, in another major growing state, Gujarat, only 10-15 per cent area has been covered under the kharif crop compared to last year because of delayed and inadequate rain. Seed sowing for the late kharif onion crop is expected to start by mid-August if rain is adequate in the coming days, said official sources.

Around 2.95 million tonnes (mt) onion were stored in May and June and the current arrivals in the market are from the stored stock, which amounts to a consumption of 35-40 per cent stored stock.

According to the NHRDF report, the area under onion in Maharashtra is expected to be low by around 50 per cent due to delayed monsoon. About 25-30 per cent area under the kharif onion crop is expected to be covered in Karnataka as compared to the previous year. In Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, too, the area is considerably low due to inadequate rain.

However, the area under bulblets-planted kharif crop will be the same as last year, especially in Rajasthan, where 30-35 per cent area is expected to be covered under kharif onion through seedling planting in comparison to last year. The planting of bulblets has started for kharif production and is expected to continue till the end of August. Under similar conditions, around 50 per cent of the area is likely to be covered in Punjab and Haryana and 25 per cent in Uttar Pradesh.

In Madhya Pradesh, 25-30 per cent of the area is likely to be covered under kharif, as compared to the last year.