Exports fail to lift onion prices, increased arrivals keep market rates low

PUNE: Export of onions may be robust, but that's no relief for farmers are domestic prices are sliding. Wholesale prices crashed to 5.50/kg in Pune on Monday. Crop input from Maharashtra is on the rise, despite the exporters shifting their procurement base from Nashik to Pune. Trade veterans expect the situation to turn worse by April when the rabi crop hits the market. 


After the Central government reduced the minimum export price ( MEP) to $150/tonne in December 2013, exports from Maharashtra boomed, especially from Nashik. Recently, the exporters have shifted their procurement base from Nashik to Pune region comprising of Satara, Kolhapur etc.