New Delhi, Friday, August 3, Rains are predicted to be normal over Onion growing areas of Maharashtra and Gujarat during the month of August. The rain would benefit the late Kharif sowing of Onion thus erasing some of the recent concerns raised over the supply of Onion during October-December as the late Kharif sowing is harvested during this period.
Concerns were raised over the supply of Onion and the possible price rise when rain scarcity over onion growing areas of Maharashtra and Gujarat during this monsoon has led to a reduction of sowing areas almost by half. Due to poor rain and also lower price of the crop, some farmers in Nashik regions have sown Soybean and coarse grain in place of onion in their field. Though, the fall in acreage would affect the production of onion, but the late Kharif crop will make up that gap during October-December.
With a stock of 18 lakh tonnes of Onion and a predicted normal rainfall during the month of August, the situation may not deteriorate as much as being predicted now.
The export of onion rose by 32000 tonnes in the first three months of 2012-13 compared to the same period last year. During April-June period this year the country exported 4,61,854 tonnes of onions compared to 4,29,802 tonnes of onion last year.
