The arrival of fresh summer onions, harvested between March and April, has started at Lasalgaon and other Agriculture Produce Market Committees (APMCs) in Maharashtra.
Summer onions differ from kharif and late kharif crops due to their longer shelf life of over six months, allowing supply to extend until the next kharif harvest in mid-October.
Current prices for summer onions are around Rs1,320 per quintal (US$15.9), while the average wholesale price of kharif onions has declined to Rs900 per quintal (US$10.8), compared to Rs1,500 per quintal (US$18.1) last month.
Farmers report that current price levels are below production costs. "The cost of onion production is around Rs1,800 per quintal, and farmers incur heavy losses if they get any price below that. Currently, the supply of late kharif onions coming to the market is large as compared to the arrival of the summer onions," said Bharat Dighole, president of the Maharashtra State Onion Growers Association.
He added that wholesale prices of late kharif onions have declined by around 40 per cent over the past month. "Farmers are selling the produce below the production cost and are incurring heavy losses. Hence, we want the state govt to provide a grant of Rs 1,500 per quintal to those farmers who sold their produce below the production cost during the last six months."
Due to their storage potential, farmers tend to hold summer onions and release volumes based on cash requirements and market conditions. In contrast, kharif and late kharif onions have a shelf life of less than 25 days, requiring immediate sale at prevailing prices.
Market arrivals reflect this difference in supply dynamics. On Wednesday, 14,498 quintals of late kharif onions were auctioned at Lasalgaon APMC, compared to 2,634 quintals of summer onions.
Higher availability of late kharif onions continues to influence price levels as summer onion volumes gradually enter the market.
Source: The Times of India
