 "staples, kitchen staples")
Maharashtra may see a shortage of key kitchen staples like sugar, fruits, vegetables, onions, pulses and pulses due to drought-like conditions in the state, reported the Economic Times (ET). The shortage may drive up their prices and raise the risk of inflation, it said.
Maharashtra contributes significantly to the overall output of these agricultural products, making it a major producer. Because of the sporadic rain, the state's reservoir levels are currently 20 per cent lower than they were this time last year. Rabi season onion sowing is expected to decline due to the shortage of water. Tur and sugar production is already set to drop, and the sowing of wheat and chana also indicates a decrease in output.
"It is for the first time in the last six-seven years that I had to return nearly 50 per cent of the onion seeds of most brands to the companies," Mukhesh Jaybhaye, a seeds dealer in Nimon, Sangamner, told ET.
"Lack of enough water has forced farmers to reduce the area planted under onions," he added.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), while overall rain in Maharashtra during the monsoon was typical, it was deficient in numerous locations, including Marathwada, Madhya Maharashtra, and North Maharashtra.
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Rainfall has also been in the "large deficit" category during the rabi season, which runs from October 1 to November 15.
Lower onion sowing may also have an impact on supply next year. Onion prices are already skyrocketing, with retail inflation in the kitchen staple exceeding 42 per cent in October. The consumer food price index increased 6.6 per cent month-on-month (MoM) compared to the previous year.
"The farmers who used to plant onions on five acres, have reduced the area to just about two acres due to the shortage of water," said Rahul Jadhav, proprietor of Rahi Natural Seeds in Satara.
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Some of the farmers, who had sown onion nurseries expecting rain during the Diwali period, are seeking buyers for the saplings.
"We are trying to connect the farmers who want to sell their onion saplings due to lack of water with those who could have water and want to plant onions," said Bharat Dighole, president, Maharashtra Onion Growers' Association.
The nurseries require 45-55 days to grow from onion seeds, following which the seedlings are transplanted.
Unlike kharif onion, which grows in 90 days, rabi onion requires 120 days. Many areas in the state may be unable to supply the necessary irrigation during this four-month growing period. After tur, production of which is likely to decline due to a lack of monsoon rainfall in Maharashtra and Karnataka, chana is also expected to get hit.
"The area sown with chana is likely to decrease by 10-15 per cent," said Nitin Kalantry, a chana and tur processor in Maharashtra. "The initial figures are looking higher because farmers have done early sowing to cash in on the available soil moisture in the fields immediately after the harvesting of soya bean," he added.
Wholesale jowar prices have reached an all-time high, reaching Rs 85 per kg.
"Jowar is the staple food of the farming community in Maharashtra and north Karnataka, with no substitute. However, even urban people now prefer jowar to wheat," a wholesale jowar seller in Latur was quoted as saying by ET.
Although Maharashtra's contribution to total wheat production in the country is negligible, wheat produced in north Maharashtra and Vidarbha meets the needs of these districts for a few months.
As wheat production in the state is projected to fall, it will add to national demand at a time when wholesale prices are expected to remain uncomfortably high at Rs 27-28 per kg for the second year in a row.
