Onion rate crash leaves farmers teary-eyed
KARNAL: Onion farmers across the state are in dismay as wholesale prices have crashed drastically and they are unable to cover the input cost amid the lack of buyers.
Onion had dominated the headlines in October last year due to its skyrocketing prices, as it was sold for ₹100 per kg. But now, farmers are being forced to sell it for ₹7- 9 per kg in the absence of buyers.
The traders and farmers blame the Covid-19 lockdown for the fall in rates.
The farmers revealed that big transporters and buyers were not showing interest in onion due to which they were unable to sell their entire produce in the local markets.
“In the absence of big traders due to the lockdown, we have been selling the crop to local merchants and street vendors. This is the reason why the prices have crashed to around ₹8 per kg from ₹14 per kg last year,” said Raj Kumar, a trader from Pipli onion market in Kurukshetra.
As per the traders, the Pipli mandi is the biggest onion market in the northern districts of Haryana. “As there is no mechanism to store the produce, the farmers have no choice but to sell it even if at lower prices,” said another trader Praveen Kumar.
“I sowed onion on two acres of land and yielded nearly 110 quintals per acre, hoping for handsome returns. But it was unable to fetch me even the input cost which is around ₹50,000 per acre,” rued farmer Raj Kumar from Fatehgarh in Yamunanagar.
As per horticulture department officials, due to the increase in the onion prices last year, the onion acreage has increased to over 36,000 hectares from 32,000 hectares and its production to around 8.77 lakh MT against the 7.80 lakh MT from last year.