Bearish trend grips onion on acreage rise

The pre-monsoon showers seem to have dampened the arrival of onions in the mandis here. But with an expected rise in acreage this kharif season, arrivals will increase more than 14 per cent, experts said.

This has worried stockists, who have already stored huge heaps of onion in their godowns, waiting for an unexpected rise in the future-market rates.

Satish Pandey, additional director, National Horticulture Research & Development Foundation (NHRDF), said onion acreage may increase by 12 per cent in FY08. He said in the current kharif season, 15 lakh tonnes of onion would be produced, which is 20 per cent of the total annual output in the country. Next season estimates are pegged at 75-80 lakh tonnes.

Stockists are in a tight spot on the export front also as the government had recently increased the export tariff rates. Since onion rates are not expected to go any higher, stockists are attempting to empty their godowns gradually.

In the Indore mandi, daily arrivals have been merely 3,500 sacks, which has resulted in the rise of market rates. The best quality onion was sold at Rs 370-380 and average quality at Rs 340-350 per 40 kg. In Maharashtra, more farmers prefer onion to sugarcane owing to higher market rates.

Onion, a cash crop, is grown thrice a year "" Kharif, late Kharif and Rabi seasons. It is sown in July and August and the arrival begins in September-October. The arrival of the late Kharif crop is from January to March and that of Rabi from April to May. The Kharif yield is estimated to be 20 per cent and that of late Kharif and Rabi 40 per cent each.