Rose onion exports rise 28%

Bangalore rose onion exports have gone up by 28 per cent against last year levels owing to the promotional campaigns undertaken by the the central and state export agencies in south-east Asian countries.

Rose onion exports during 2005-06 stood at 32,552.04 tonne valued at Rs 74.25 crore as against 25,345.09 tonne valued at Rs 52.57 crore in 2004-05.

As the demand for this variety of onion is low in local markets, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda) and Karnataka State Agricultural Produce Processing and Export Corporation (Kappec) were keen to promote the crop in countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei and a few countries in the Middle-East such as Bahrain, Dubai and Kuwait.

Karnataka is the only state in India growing rose onion. Currently the crop is grown in 10,000 acres in Kolar, Tumkur, Hassan, Davanagere, Dharwad, and Bagalkot. Of the total 70,000 tonne grown in the state, only 50 per cent are exported after grading.

"For the last five years, the export of these onions has been growing marginally and the state has 16 exporters of rose onions.

Exports of Bangalore rose onions is exclusively channelised through Kappec," said Umesh C Bagur, general manager, Kappec.

In 2004-2005, the state exported 25,345.09 tonne, of which Kappec's share was 1,341.01 tonne while private exports stood at 24,004.8 tonne.

In 2003-04, Karnataka exported 36,182.71 tonne, of which Kappec's share was 700 tonne while private exports stood at 35,482.71 tonne..

According to Apeda, with the setting up of agri export zone (AEZ) for rose onion, Karnataka has so far exported onions worth Rs 200 crore in five years (from July 1, 2002 to June 30, 2006).

After setting up the AEZ, efforts have been taken to implement appropriate harvesting management services and address a variety of issues in the value chain.

The AEZ project entailed an investment of Rs 6.1 crore, out of which Rs 1.92 crore was from the central government, Rs 56 lakhs from the state government and the remaining from the private sector.