Yellow onion export gets govt boost

Farmers cultivating yellow onions have now found a new avenue. The National Horticultural Research Development Foundation (NHRDF) is promoting the cultivation of yellow onion among farmers in Pune and Nashik districts of Maharashtra and Bhavnagar district in Gujarat. Yellow onions have a huge export market in Europe.

The yellow onion is not pungent unlike the red onion, which makes it easier to cut and also gives a better yield and thus better realisations for the farmer.

"So far we have been exporting red onion to such countries which have a dominant Indian population. With the yellow onions, we are looking to create a new export market in Europe. While last year around 100 tonnes were produced and exported, we expect to double the number to 800 tonnes this year," NHRDF Director R P Gupta said.

After examining about a dozen varieties of yellow onion grown in Europe, NHRDF has chosen four-five varieties that can grow in the Indian climate. "We have imported seeds to grow such onions in India and we are providing guidance to farmers to cultivate such onions in the country," Gupta said.

"Ideally, this onion should be sown in September-October so that it can be harvested by January. This is the period when the local crop in the European countries is not grown due to extreme climatic conditions," said Ajit Shah, a Mumbai-based onion trader and exporter, who exported one container of yellow onion to Europe early this year.