With a huge arrival of small onion (shallot) from Mysore and from major onion production centres within the district, the wholesale onion market in Dindigul, one of the biggest markets in the State, witnessed a crash in the prices of shallot varieties.
A fifty per cent drop in prices of shallots in a month puzzled farmers and traders. The prices of shallots that hovered between Rs. 55 (top quality) and Rs. 45 a kg (medium quality) last month came down suddenly to Rs. 25 and Rs. 18 a kg respectively on Monday. In the retail market, shallots were sold up to Rs. 70 a kg last month.
Unexpected rain shattered shallot production in certain pockets of Karnataka and affected regular arrivals from Theni, Andipatti, Dharapuram and Udumalpet.
At the same time, the showers were beneficial to onion growers in the district as onion plants were at the growing stage. With sufficient rainfall at the right time, the yield was high in major shallot production centres in the district now, said onion traders in the market.
The market received 4,500 bags of shallots on Monday, of which the arrival from domestic production centres, especially Iyyalur, Eriyode and Gujiliamparai, was around 2,500 bags.
Increase in production and arrival from neighbouring districts caused a glut in the wholesale market. Exports too did not pick up much owing to fresh arrivals of onions. Exporters preferred only matured shallots that were completely dry. Normally, fresh shallots from the field would be damp and the shelf life short, they added. Farmers were worried over the sudden slump in shallot prices.
“Whenever we get good yield or bumper harvest, we face only loss,” said M. Periyasamy, a farmer in Iyyalur.
Traders opined that shallot prices would slash further in the months to come as harvesting would be completed in major production centres in the neighbouring districts.
Normally, the wholesale market receives onion in large scale from Nilakottai, Sengurichi, Gujiliamparai in Dindigul district and Thuraiyur, Udumalpet and Namakkal in nearby districts, some of the major onion production centres in the State, and from Mysore.
