The market intervention initiative of the Kadapa district administration three weeks ago to procure onions at Rs. 700 a quintal has come as a breather to the distressed onion growers of the district.
Onion crop was raised on 1,760 hectares in Kadapa district this year and in about 20,000 hectares in Kurnool district.
However, the price plummeted to as low as Rs. 4 to Rs. 5 a kg this year, as against Rs. 40 and Rs. 50 per kg. in the corresponding period the previous year, causing concern among onion growers, who incurred hefty losses.
Officials attributed the steep fall in onion prices to large-scale import of onions from Kurnool and Maharashtra and lack of demand in other districts.
The onion growers in Kadapa district were aghast at not being able to sell the onions at a break even price of Rs. 300 a quintal.
In this backdrop, Kadapa Joint Collector Swetha Teotia apprised Commissioner of Marketing Mallikarjuna Rao on the travails of the onion growers in Kadapa district, and sought market intervention by procuring onions at reasonable prices.
