Drought set to hit onion output in Maharashtra

Maharashtra is set to see a fall in both area and production of onion this Kharif season on account of drought conditions in the State with the failure of the monsoon.

The State is the largest producer of onion in the country.

However, increased area under the bulb in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat, is likely to make up for the loss, said officials, even though estimates were yet to be confirmed.

Higher retail prices are expected to cool off when arrivals begin in early-October.

“Onion production in Maharashtra will be down this Kharif season due to the lack of rains. Area under the crop is lower by about 20 per cent for the season in Nashik, Ahmednagar and Pune, among other districts,” said Jai Gopal, Director, ICAR-Directorate of Onion and Garlic Research.

“Plantings for the late Kharif have started in some places but persistent lack of rainfall is worrying even for the Rabi during which a bulk of the onions is produced,” he added.

As of Monday, Marathwada and the State’s central region had recorded a 51 per cent and 43 per cent deficit in rainfall respectively, according to India Meteorological Department data. The figures are the two highest shortfalls recorded among the 36 sub-divisions tracked by the Met agency.

The Kharif season, including the late varieties, make up for 40-45 per cent of total onion output. Only about 11,000 hectares (ha) out of 22,000 ha has been covered this Kharif in Nashik, while about 8,000 ha has been sown in Ahmednagar out of around 17,600 ha.

A decline in production can result in prices shooting up, as evidenced last month when average onion retail prices in NewDelhi scaled ₹80/kg.

“There will be a drop in area and production in Maharashtra due to the drought. In Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, the area is normal but output will be low for the same reason. However, these shortfalls will be made up by the increased area in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Gujarat,” said RP Gupta, Director, National Horticulture Research and Development Foundation (NHRDF).

Despite early Kharif arrivals and imports from Afghanistan and Egypt by private traders, average retail prices in New Delhi and Mumbai stood at ₹60 and ₹59/kg on Monday.

The Centre had earlier increased the minimum export price on the bulb to prevent further shortages.

It had also directed the MMTC to float tenders for the import of 10,000 tonnes of onions and shipments are expected by mid-September.

According to the NHRDF, India produced 193.53 lakh tonnes (lt) of onions in 2014-15, higher than its previous estimate of around 189 lt, and closer to the 194.02 lt produced the year before.

Maharashtra produced 56.54 lt of the bulb last year.