For the second consecutive year, it is bad time for the shallot growers in the region.
Last year, if the unseasonal rainfall played spoilsport, this time, the heavy arrivals had pulled down the price almost to rock-bottom level.
Recalling his bitter experience last year, R. Perumal of Gujiliamparai said, “Just before the harvest, the rain soaked the field. The water could not be drained. Hence, the crop ended up on a loss. The woes of Perumal are not something isolated, but there are grievances aplenty in Gujiliamparai, Eriodu, Gopalpatti, Sengurichi and other locations, where small, marginal and progressive growers raised onions and shallots.
For Perumal, he spent around ₹ 45,000 on his two acres of land to raise shallots and from 60 bags, he has earned ₹ 20,000 only and doesn’t have any clue as to how to bear the loss.
The wholesale market in Dindigul functioned thrice a week. Apart from customers from Kerala and other parts of Tamil Nadu, the shallots from Dindigul were exported to countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Indonesia directly by some merchant exporters..
The association deputy secretary M. Marimuthu said that on a single day the arrival was approximately 250 metric tons (ie, 5,000 bags), which pushed down the price. In the beginning of February, the shallots sold at ₹ 60 per kg in the wholesale market and today, it revolved around ₹ 15 and ₹ 20 per kg.
With more number of farmers claiming to have raised shallots in and around Dindigul, the price may either fall further or revolve in the same level. Also, the arrivals from Bangalore, Thalavadi et al were going to increase in the coming days., he feared.
A big exporter in Tiruchi market said that already the covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown among other issues had disrupted the smooth cycle in the business. Only now, say from January, things looked improving. However, to add to the problems, the imbroglio in between Russia and Ukraine appeared to be not ending soon only complicated the peaceful environment as tension prevailed in international market.
Explaining that the war may not have direct implications to the export of onions, but, the sentiments and chaos in cargo movement were likely to be a burden.
