During the winter of 1998,bad weather had affected the kharif onion crop,bringing down the annual produce from 42 lakh tonnes to 36 lakh tonnes. The scarcity and the consequent rise in prices up to Rs 20 per kg wholesale and Rs 50 on retail in Mumbai and Delhi were blamed for the debacle of the BJP and its allies in the Assembly polls in four states. The NDA government banned the export of onions,but probably too late. The ban was lifted when the UPA wrested power. Twelve years later,prices have skyrocketed again,to an average Rs 30 per kilo wholesale markets and up to Rs 80 per kilo on retail in the major cities. The suspension of exports helped bring down the wholesale price in the Lasalgaon (Nashik) onion marketyard from Mondays average Rs 3,100 a quintal to an average of Rs 2,500 a quintal on Tuesday,but market sources call it a psychological response. The UPA government,like the NDA,seems to have woken up late; many feel the suspension of exports should have come a month ago,and that the government should have foreseen the lower yield when unseasonal rain lashed onion-growing regions. In 2009-10,the country produced 121 lakh tonnes onion,Maharashtra accounting for 31.46 lakh tonnes,followed by Karnataka and Gujarat. This year,the harvesting schedule of kharif onion was affected due to untimely rain in Maharashtra,Gujarat,Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The overall damage to the kharif crop is around 35 per cent in Maharashtra,50 per cent in Gujarat,25 per cent in Rajasthan and 40 per cent in Madhya Pradesh, a senior agriculture official said. The arrivals till last week were at least 35 per cent less than the previous years. The unseasonal rain has affected not only the kharif crop but also the late kharif crop in states such as Maharashtra and Gujarat,he said,assessing this loss at 20 per cent. About 80 per cent of kharif onions in Maharashtra,Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh have been harvested. Arrivals were expected to increase during December,but damage due to the rain has created a scarcity, he said. Harvesting of kharif onions in northern states such as Punjab,Haryana,Uttar Pradesh and Bihar is expected to increase by the end of December. Prospects for the rabi crop too are grim,he said,with 25 per cent nurseries affected in Maharashtra,20 per cent in Gujarat,15 per cent in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and 15 per cent in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. He said the overall damage to rabi onions was to the extent of 20 per cent. Transplant of seedlings for the forthcoming rabi season is expected to start in January,and harvesting after March. A director of NAFED,Changdevrao Holkar,said the rise in prices was benefiting traders,not farmers: wholesale markets are selling in the range of Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,100 per quintal (Rs 25 to Rs 31 per kg),and retailers at Rs 80. People living in the cities should be prepared to pay more for onions,as they do for other vegetables, he said. Onion exporter Nitin Jain said,Production is down from 75-80 quintals per acre to around 10-15 quintals per acre. The situation will continue till the late kharif crop arrives,but if the yield is insufficient,it will make no difference. He added,Why does the consumer never compare prices of onions with those of other vegetables? No vegetable is available at less than Rs 40 per kilo in the retail market.
