Consumers shedding tears over onion prices that have quadrupled in the last six months can heave a sigh of relief. Prices are set to decline soon.

Changdev Holkar, Board member of the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (Nafed), is of the view that prices will ease as soon as the rabi onion crop, which was planted in October, arrives in the market, in early April.

Supplies from States such as Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan are also improving, he said, adding that these would help cool prices. Currently, the market is facing a shortage because kharif and late-kharif crop got affected due to the poor rain in June and July “There was not enough water for a good yield. There is almost a 30 per cent decline in kharif and late kharif production. Plus, kharif onion does not have a long shelf life,” Holkar said.

In the last six months, onion prices have soared to Rs 1,700-2,000 a quintal from Rs 500-600 at Lasalgaon market in Nashik district of Maharashtra. Lasalgaon, in Northern Maharashtra, is Asia’s largest onion market.

Since November, prices have more than doubled in the retail market. With supplies being tight due to low rainfall, onion is quoted at Rs 37/kg across the country.

Decline in acreage

Another onion trader from Lasalgaon, Nitin Jain, said the onion market has in the last two years witnessed major price fluctuations and a massive increase in input costs. Therefore, farmers had cut the area under onion, affecting supplies to some extent.

He said that the decline in onion acreage has led to a higher area getting covered under maize. “After all, farmers find alternative crops to augment their income,” he said.

> rahul.wadke@thehindu.co.in

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