India: Glut triggers small onion price crash
The price of both small and Bellary onions (first quality) have fallen to Rs. 15 a kg, down by Rs. 5 since last month at the wholesale market at the Gandhi Market in Tiruchi from where retailers from most central districts procure the bulbs.
Traders attribute the latest fall in price to heavy arrivals. While the rains in Nasik has forced farmers to dispose off their Bellary onion stocks, a good crop of sambar onions in Udumalpet, Dharapuram, and Palladam areas have resulted in a glut in the market even though farmers in Perambalur are said to be holding on to their stocks awaiting better prices. Perambalur is the leading onion-producing district in the State with the crop being raised on about 8,000 hectares of land normally. Tiruchi district accounts for another 4,000 hectares.
“We are getting about 300 tonnes each of Bellary and small onions a day while the normal demand is just about 200 tonnes. The Bellary onions have suffered damage because of rain and could be sold only in the price range of Rs. 8 to Rs. 15 a kg, depending on the quality. The price of small onions ranges between Rs. 10 to Rs. 15 a kg, also down by Rs.5 a kg over the past 20 days,” said A. Thangaraj, general secretary, Tiruchi Onion Commission Mandi Traders’ Association. Farmers representatives say that the crash in prices has made it difficult to even recover the expenditure incurred for raising the 90-day crop. The glut in the market of small onions was also attributed to the poor demand for exports.
Source: thehindu.com
