After months of enduring high onion prices, there is some good news for consumers, the country is all set to harvest a record onion crop in 2010 driven largely by favourable weather and government initiatives in improving production of horticulture crop. A bumper harvest should considerably bring down onion prices.
India’s onion production this year is set to cross 8.5 lakh tonne, trade sources in Nashik, the country’s largest onion trading centre said on Monday said, which almost 12% is more than last year’s production of 7.6 lakh tonne.
?This has stabilised retail prices, which had skyrocketed in January mainly because of delay in arrival of the kharif crop on account of deficient rainfall.
Onion prices in the wholesale markets of Nashik have stabilised at around Rs 550-600 per quintal, which is expected to keep retail prices under check in most parts of the country as Nashik sets the price direction for onion.
In January 2010, wholesale price of onion went up to Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,300 per quintal at Nashik.
According to latest crop prospect report of National Horticulture Research and Development Foundation (NHRDF), a Nashik-based organisation, harvesting of rabi crop is in full swing in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Orissa, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
?Arrival of onion increased in almost all the major markets and the quality of bulbs arriving in the market is medium to good,? NHRDF observed in its report.
?With better price realisation, the farmers have taken up more area under onion cultivation which has resulted in a bumper production,? HP Singh, deputy-director General (horticulture), Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) said.
According department of consumer affairs, the retail price of onion in Delhi has declined to Rs 9 -10 per kg from Rs 18 -20 a kg three months back.