Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Monday, Feb 19, 2007
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Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Monday, Feb 19, 2007 ePaper |
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Agri-Biz & Commodities
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Horticulture/Fruits & Vegetables Industry & Economy - Exports & Imports Onion exports likely to go up 2 lakh tonnes by March Suresh P. Iyengar
On demand Retail prices of onions in Delhi have touched Rs 20 per kg from Rs 12 per kg. In Mumbai the range is between Rs 18 and Rs 20 per kg from Rs 10 per kg.
"Onion exports between April 2006 and January 2007 have touched 9.43 lakh tonnes against 7.70 lakh tonnes in fiscal year 2005-06. We will be exporting another 2 lakh tonnes by March as there is a strong demand from Pakistan and Bangladesh. The total exports for fiscal 2006-07 may top 11 lakh tonnes," said an official of the Maharashtra State Agricultural Marketing Board, one of the 12 canalising agencies for onion exports from India.
Banning Exports
The Government had recently expressed concern over the rising retail onion prices and was toying with the idea of banning exports before the Union Agriculture Minister, Mr Sharad Pawar, put his foot down to stomp the idea. Onions are exported to Dubai, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, West Asia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Seychelles and Bangladesh. Onions grown in India are very much in demand in the Gulf countries, Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh because of its strong pungency. Maharashtra accounts for over 75 per cent of the total onion exports from the country. In financial year 2005-06, the country exported 7.70 lakh tonnes of onion valued at Rs 620 crore. Of the total production of 55 lakh tonnes, about 28 per cent of onion comes from Maharashtra.
Kharif Output
The retail prices of onions in Delhi have touched Rs 20 per kg from Rs 12 per kg while the prices in Mumbai range between Rs 18 and Rs 20 per kg from Rs 10 per kg. "Of late, prices of onions in wholesale markets don't come down even on days when the supplies are more. Even if prices falls in the wholesale markets it is not passed on to retail customers. Prices are on the upside since mid-December and may ease once late-kharif from Nashik, Ahmednagar, Solapur, and Pune start arriving by second week of March," said Mr Rakesh Miglani, a Mumbai-based wholesaler. The kharif output is marginally higher at 6.65 lakh tonnes against 6.3 lakh tonnes last year. Harvesting of kharif crop is almost over in Karnataka, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Punjab. However, late crop is still being harvested in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. Harvesting in Orissa and West Bengal will start from February onwards.
Rabi harvest
"Rabi onion harvesting will start from end of March and continue up to May 2007. Arrivals of this crop would be about 15 per cent in March, 50 per cent in April and 35 per cent in May 2007. Total rabi production is estimated to be around 12.40 lakh tonnes," said an official of the National Agricultural Co-operative Marketing Federation of India. The country produced about 60 lakh tonnes of onions in 2005-06. Maharashtra led the list of onion producing States with 16 lakh tonnes in FY 2005-06 followed by Gujarat 9.8 lakh tonnes, Uttar Pradesh 5.6 lakh tonnes, Orissa 4.7 lakh tonnes, Karnataka 3 lakh tonnes and 2.5 lakh tonnes by Tamil Nadu.
Onion futures
Given the price sensitivity, the commodity futures exchanges have delayed the plans to launch futures trading in onions. Though the Government had notified onions for futures trading on April 26, 2006, the national commodity futures exchanges have been conducting study on the commodity from 2005-end. "We have already launched quiet a few new contracts of late and we are working on to strengthen trading in them. At the moment we are not focusing on onions," said Mr Joseph Massey, Managing Director, MCX. Echoing MCX views, an official of another national commodity futures exchange NCDEX said: "Given the sensitivity of the commodity we are not looking at launching onion futures in any near future."
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