Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jan 03, 2008
ePaper
Online edition of India's National Newspaper Thursday, Jan 03, 2008 ePaper |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Tamil Nadu |
|
News:
ePaper |
Front Page |
National |
Tamil Nadu |
Andhra Pradesh |
Karnataka |
Kerala |
New Delhi |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Engagements |
Advts: Retail Plus | Classifieds | Jobs | Obituary |
Tamil Nadu
a tale of woe: Workers sorting onions at a commission shandy in Dindigul. — DINDIGUL: Prices of small onions have crashed, thanks to huge arrivals and sharp slump in exports. A fall in the price of big onions in upcountry has an adverse impact on small onion markets in the south. Small onions, the lifeline of thousands of farmers, have been cultivated on a large scale in Batlagundu, Nilakottai and Oddanchatram. With the commencement of harvesting, farmers have started dumping small onions in the market. But there are no takers. Normally, most of arrivals will be exported to Sri Lanka. Exporters, who procure 15 to 20 lorry loads of onion every day, have stopped purchase for the past three days after the Lankan government sharply raised the import duty on onions. An exporter in Dindigul said that Sri Lanka, a major importer of Indian onions, has hiked the import duty on onion to Rs.28 per kg from Rs.5. Lankan importers have stopped placing orders. Lankan importers are now negotiating with their government to withdraw or reduce the duty, he added. “I hope the situation changes in a few weeks. Moreover, exports to Malaysia are also very poor.” But Dindigul farmers cannot wait for a long time as stock will perish owing to poor shelf life, said traders. Exporters have not procured even three loads of onions. Low domestic consumptionDomestic consumption is also very low. Besides, 20 lorry loads of big onions from Maharashtra have flooded Dindigul market as its prices in upcountry crashed to Rs.2.50 a kg. Now, Maharashtra onions are being sold at Rs.5 as against Rs.23 a kg last fortnight. Small onion prices too have come down to Rs.7 a kg from a high of Rs.28 two weeks ago. Over 3,500 bags, each containing 80 kgs, have reached Dindigul market on Wednesday. Hike in transportation charges and input costs have increased onion production costs manifold. Already, several onion-growers have shifted to maize and sunflower cultivation as the prices for these was stable. With no proper godown facilities, farmers have been forced to sell at low prices. At a time when the market should have boomed, it is facing a downtrend, traders added. Huge arrivals are likely to continue for another month. If the market fails to boom, farmers will face a tough time, said V. Rajendran, an onion trader.
Printer friendly
page
News:
ePaper |
Front Page |
National |
Tamil Nadu |
Andhra Pradesh |
Karnataka |
Kerala |
New Delhi |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Engagements |
|
|
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | The Hindu ePaper | Business Line | Business Line ePaper | Sportstar | Frontline | Publications | eBooks | Images | Home |
Copyright © 2008, The
Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu
|
