Onion prices crash on wagon shortage in Saurashtra

Onion prices in the Saurashtra region have crashed by close to Rs 100 per 20 kg in the last one month. This is largely due to the inadequate allotment of wagons by the Western Railway to transport the output.

Prices have fallen from Rs 120-140 to Rs 30-40 per 20 kg.

"The fall in prices will continue if railway officials do not take this matter seriously," warned Vinubhai Patel, president of the Saurashtra farmers association.

"There is good demand for onions in Saurashtra from Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Assam. Purchases of white onions from Saurashtra have begun but the Western Railway is not allotting wagons on time. As a result, the crop is being dumped in godowns and farmers are losing on the price for this crop. It will be beneficial to the farmers if wagons are allotted on time," Patel added.

"Our efforts to protect the onions from decay are falling short as new crop is being added. Farmers are the losers on two counts "" a lot of the onion crop is getting spoilt and the remuneration is very low," informed Bakulbhai Thakkar, a garlic and onion merchant.

The onion output in the region has risen from 7 lakh tonne last year to 10 lakh tonne. The Bhavnagar, Mahuva, Jafrabad, Rajula, Kalawad talukas of Saurashtra region are leading producers of onions in the state. Close to 26,000 hectares is under onion cultivation in the Bhavnagar taluka.