Govt Says Timely And Good Monsoon To Help Relax Prices Of Onion, Tomato, Potato

The officials revealed that an analysis by the Ministry of Agriculture found that the targeted area under kharif onions this year increased 27 per cent to 361,000 hectares as compared to last year

The Indian Government on Friday said that some relief might be expected in the prices of essential vegetables. The authorities issued an official statement and said that the timely occurrence of monsoon rain could help bring a relaxation in the prices of main crops such as onions, tomatoes, and potatoes.

Onions

As far as onions are concerned, the officials believe that the crop’s supply in the domestic markets remains at a comfortable level despite a marginal fall in production during the 2024 rabi season over last year, reported Business Standard.

The official statement revealed that an analysis by the Ministry of Agriculture found that the targeted area under kharif onions this year increased 27 per cent to 361,000 hectares as compared to a year earlier.

“Onion prices are stabilizing as the number of rabi onions released in the market by farmers is increasing with higher mandi prices and the onset of monsoon rains, which increases the chances of storage loss due to high atmospheric moisture,” it added.

Tomatoes

The statement revealed that in the current kharif season, farmers aimed for an increased acreage of 272,000 hectares of tomato against 267,000 hectares last year.

The assessment noted that the condition of the crop remains good in major producing regions such as Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh, and Kolar, Karnataka. “In Kolar, picking of tomatoes has started and will hit the market within a few days from now,” it added.

This improvement in yield should help ease out the prices of the crop, the officials said.

Further, the report found that major growing regions such as Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu have witnessed an increase in the cultivation area of the produce.

Potatoes

With regards to potatoes, the statement noted that the cultivated area under kharif potatoes was aimed to increase by 12 per cent as compared to the previous year. 27.32 million tonne of the produce was held in cold storage this year to cater to the demand. The officials said that potato prices depend on the rate at which the crop is released from the cold storages during the March to December period. Notably, the kharif potato harvest is conducted from September to November and this helps build up the local availability of the crop.