Onion shortage: Here's why farmers gained little from record price rise

Farmers across the country have suffered a double whammy this year - first, their crop from last season was spoilt by floods, and then onion yield also dropped due to moisture in fields

Raghunath Sawant, an onion farmer from Niphad taluka in Maharashtra’s Nashik district, is a worried man. And, he is not alone. Despite onion prices hitting Rs 130 a kg in the wholesale market, Sawant has not gained enough to make a profit this season.

“I have never seen such high prices in the 55 years of my life. But these high rates were no good for farmers like me. Onions produced last year and stored in warehouses went bad because of extended rainfall and flooding. The entire stock got spoilt, causing massive shortage. Floods also affected twice the seeds that were