Gujarat tear-jerker: Onion sowing dips 80%

AHMEDABAD: Gujarat is all set for a tear-jerker in the coming months. Even as the state reels under a severe water crisis, onion sowing has recorded an alarming dip of 80% when compared to 2018.

The state agriculture department’s sowing report released on April 29 has redflagged that sowing has taken place only on 1,811 hectares, which is only 20% of the 9,214 hectares on which sowing took place in 2018. The sowing is 16% of the decadal average of 11,375 hectares.
This has triggered fears of a price spike as production of onion is expected to plummet to as low as 31,000 tonnes compared to 1.57 lakh tonnes in 2018. According to the Gujarat Pocketbook of Agricultural Statistics 2018, the state had recorded per hectare yield of 171.62 quintal or 17 tonnes.
Gujarat is the fifth largest producer of onions after Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan in India with a marketshare of 6.5%.
Poor summer sowing is a cause of concern especially since winter too had seen poor sowing of 28,647 hectares compared to decadal average of 46,364 hectares.
Ghanshyam Patel, president of Mahuva APMC, the biggest onion producing centre in Gujarat and second largest trading markets in India, said that production may dip alarmingly low.
“Local estimations have revealed that large number of farmers in Mahuva and Amreli have not opted for onion this season as they did not even recover the cost of sowing last year. Many farmers were crestfallen to get Rs 1-2 per kg for onions,” Patel said.
Onion prices likely to birng tears to eyes
Ghanshyam Patel, president of Mahuva APMC said, “At present, onion is selling at wholesale price of Rs 2.5 to Rs 6 per kg which is expected to rise to Rs 20 per kg by July-August in Mahuva wholesale market.”
Experts say that this does not augur well for consumers in cities like Ahmedabad. "There is a possibility onions which are selling at a wholesale price of Rs 4-9 per kg on May 1 may spiral to Rs 30 to Rs 40 per kg in wholesale. Accordingly, it may go as high as Rs 60-100 in the retail markets," said a senior Ahmedabad APMC office bearer.
Local farmers say that poor prices fetched last year has scared away farmers from taking onion crop. Farmers also point at changing dynamics nationally.
“Gujarat’s onions used to be in demand in northern states like Delhi, Rajasthan and Punjab among others. But for past few years, Maharashtra and Karnataka are giving fierce competition with low price and high quality. Sales thus is largely limited to local market only reducing farmer's income for produce,” said Shyamji Kapodara, chairman of Vasundhara Onion Growers Cooperative Society in Bhavnagar.
Yogesh Patel, an onion farmer from Sihor in Bhavnagar, said he has not opted for taking onion crop. “I took cumin crop in winter and have opted for groundnut this summer due to better market demand and price. The economics doesn’t support the crop,” he said.
Amreli farmer Pratap Sisodiya reasoned he was forced to keep onions in cold storage last year hoping that the prices might rise. “But it only added to overheads – shooting the production cost from Rs 5 to 7 per kg to Rs 10 to 12. It made the yield unprofitable,” he said.