NASHIK: Over 30,000 hectares of summer onion crops have been damaged due to untimely rain and hailstorms that hit Nashik district in April, said the state agriculture department.
This will impact production of summer onions to the tune of over 55-56 lakh MT (metric tonne). Their shelf life is also expected to be affected, which may lead to a scarcity after mid-August. Officials said that normally, these onions have a shelf life of over six months, but due to the rain, it will not be more than two months now.
Of the country's total summer onion production, Maharashtra contributes 40%, while Nashik contributes 50% to the state's yield. Now, this harvest is likely to be reduced to around 18 MT per hectare, said Bharat Dighole, president, Maharashtra onion growers' association.
The department has not ruled out the possibility of a rise in onion prices in the country, depending on supply from other onion-growing states, like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, etc.
Summer onions are typically harvested in March and April, stored by farmers with the hope of better prices, and sold as per requirement for money. There is no fresh harvest of onions between May and mid-October, until the harvest of new kharif crops begins at the end of October.
RP Gupta, ex-director of the National Horticulture Research and Development Foundation (NHRDF), said, "A scarcity of onions may be seen from mid-August to October this year."
Manoj Jain, an onion trader and exporter, said it will take around a fortnight to know the extent of actual damage to onions caused by rain. "Meanwhile, the supply of summer onions is likely to be exhausted by mid-July if the situation continues," he said.
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