Onion prices are expected to rise by Rs 2-4 a kg in the coming months owing to poor supply, delayed monsoons and decreased minimum export price (MEP), Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) said.
A survey by the TNAU has advised farmers to store small onion and sell them during October-November as its prices are expected to rise in the coming months. Delayed monsoon, decreased MEP and reduced arrivals from Karnataka would support the prices to rule on the higher side in Tamil Nadu , according to the survey carried out by the Domestic and Export Market Intelligence Cell (DEMIC) of TNAU.
If there was rainfall in Palladam, Tirupur, Perambalur and Erode areas in Tamil Nadu during the harvest season, the farmers’ prices would increase beyond Rs 15 a kg, it said.
The arrivals from Karnataka have come to an end this year in early August itself, and currently farmers are getting a price of around Rs 6-11 a kg depending on the quality. According to the study, for the next three months, the prices would hover around Rs 8 - 15 a kg.
India produced around 7.45 million tonnes of onion from 528,000 hectares in 2007-08, which was 11 per cent higher than that of the previous year, as per the estimates of the National Horticulture Research and Development Foundation (NHRDF).
India exported about 1.1 million tonnes during the period, which was five per cent lesser than that of 2006-07, due to the government restrictions on the exports like increasing MEP and quantity restrictions.
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Both production and export consisted of Bellary onion as well as the small onions.
Bellary onion produced in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu were exported to Malaysia, Singapore, Seychelles, Bangladesh and the Middle East countries.
Small onions, grown mostly in the southern states and also known as rose onion and Krishnapuram onion, were grown in Kolar district in Karnataka and Cuddapah District in Andhra Pradesh. Multiplier onion, known as ‘podisu’ and shallots, were grown in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and AP. Small onions produced in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh were exported from Chennai port to Singapore and Malaysia and multiplier onions to Singapore, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.