Amid price slump, unseasonal rains double headache for Maharashtra's onion farmers

Mumbai: Pre-monsoon rains in several parts of Maharashtra since the beginning of May have increased the worries of the state's onion cultivators, who are already stressed about falling prices of the kitchen staple.

Onion crops on thousands of acres have been damaged in the rains, leaving farmers staring at heavy losses, Maharashtra State Onion Producers Farmers Association founder-president Bharat Dighole told PTI.

The damage in real terms is yet to be ascertained as the rains continue and panchnamas (spot assessment) haven't been done, he lamented.

Onion-producing areas in Konkan, Nashik, Pune, Kolhapur, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Latur, Amravati and Nagpur have been witnessing heavy unseasonal rains since May 6.

"Unseasonal rains have lashed onion-growing districts of Dhule, Nashik, Ahilyanagar, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Pune, Solapur, Beed, Dharashiv, Akola, Jalna, Buldhana, and Jalgaon. Prices were already down and have further slumped due to unseasonal rains," he said.

He said in the Lasalgaon market, as of May 20, the average price was Rs 1,150 per quintal.

Onion growers begin preparations for the Rabi season a year in advance, with the nursery being set up in August-September 2024 and replantation carried out from November (2024) to January (2025), Dighole explained.

"Farmers who have harvested the crop before March this year have got good yield per acre, and those harvesting in April-May haven't been lucky, as the crop has faced excessive heat and unseasonal rains. Several farmers do not have storage facilities, and those who store their produce in the fields have been worst affected in the rains since May 6," he pointed out.

The harvested crops of these farmers have become wet, while even standing crops have been damaged in many areas, Dighole added.

In 2022-23, onion cultivation was on 5,53,212 hectares, while in 2023-24, it was on 4,64,884 hectares, and in 2024-25, on a record 6,51,965 hectares, he said.

Dighole said Nashik is the largest onion-producing region in the country, and in 2024-25, the crop was cultivated on 2,90,136 hectares, while it was on 1,67,285 hectares in 2023-24 and 2,48,417 hectares in 2022-23.

Despite bans being imposed by the Union government now and then since 2019, exports have been robust and brought in substantial revenue, with Maharashtra being the leading state in the country in this regard, he pointed out.

"In 2018-19, 21.83 lakh tonnes of onions were exported, bringing in Rs 3,468 crore in foreign currency. In 2019-20, 11.49 lakh tonnes were exported, and the revenue was Rs 2,320 crore. It was 15.73 lakh tonnes and Rs 3,432 crore in 2021-22, and in 2022-23, we exported 25.25 lakh tonnes of onions and earned Rs 4,522 crore. The figure was 17.17 lakh tonnes and Rs 3,922 crore for 2023-24," he said, giving nationwide figures.

The Union government must make public the yearly output needed in the country so that farmers can plan accordingly and excess produce can be exported.

"In such a scenario, there will be no scarcity, and consumers can get affordable onions. When onion prices rise, the government steps in to control it by levying export duty, minimum export prices and banning exports. Farmers suffer because of it," Dighole asserted.