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OUR BUREAU
MUMBAI: Wholesale prices of onions have crashed by Rs 10-20 per 10 kg while the price of potatoes has dropped by Rs 7-8 per 10 kg in the last week at the Navi Mumbai Agriculture Produce Market Commission (APMC) market yard.
Negligible export demand against heavy arrivals from the producing centres have led the onion prices tumbling down. Moreover lower prices of green vegetables have diverted the consumer demand, thus leading to much less domestic consumption as well.
According to traders the exporters are not ready to enter into overseas supplies contract as they fear the quota to be exhausted even before they commence shipments as the government has permitted export of onion with a ceiling of meagre 25,000 tons.
Wholesale price of onions from Nashik has crashed to Rs. 28/32 variety no.1 and Rs 25/28 for variety no.2 for every 10 kilograms on Friday last. The price of onions from Pune were quoted at Rs 30/35 for variety no.1 and Rs 25-30 for variety No.2.
According to traders the daily arrivals ofonions from various centres at the APMC market has shot up to 120-125 lorries while the arrivals of potatoes are in the range of 90-100 lorries a day.
Moreover the strike by hoteliers in Mumbai on 18th has also affected the onion and potato offtake substantially during the week. Potatoes have witnessed a bumper crop this year which has affected the price level adversely, the traders said.
The price of potatoes from various centres of both the no.1 and no.2 varieties are as follows (for 10 kilograms) : Military- Rs 30/35 and Rs 20/25, Indore- Rs 30/35 and Rs 25/30, Farukhabad- Rs 20-25 and Rs 15/20, Sirsagunj- Rs 30/35 and Rs 20/30, Agra- Rs 30/35 and Rs 20/25 and Talegaon- Rs 20/25 and Rs 15/20.
Earlier crop damage due to heavy rains have pushed up prices of potatoes in Mumbai to rs 20-25 per kg at the retail level and Rs 160-200 per 10 kg at the wholesale market in Navi Mumbai.
According to VJ Waman, a leading trader at APMC market, producing centres of Maharashtra-Pune, Satara and Sangli had beenextensively damaged due to incessant rainfall which had delayed the crop arrivals.
The prices of potatoes at this level sustained till the end of January when and started declining after the new crop arrivals commenced. The crop which normally arrives at the beginning of second week of December, was delayed as the first round of sowing of potatoes had been completely washed off. The new sowing began in late November, as the sunshine in the producing centres had sustained and the rains favoured the crop by not showering during the gestation period. The crop matured by January and it started arriving to the market in the beginning of February, he added.
Moreover in absence of arrivals of potatoes from adjoining areas, the demand for Mumbai had to be met through potatoes stored in cold storage in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh during that period.
Further daily arrivals of such stored potatoes from those centres had been reduced to just 400 tons against the requirement of 700 tonnes.
The heavyrains and the resulting crop damage had left the farmers in a dire state with heavy financial losses to them. The farmers expected to recover their losses in the second round of sowing but it seems their dreams have not fulfilled as lower prices in the market has affected them badly.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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