December exports of Indian onions will likely fall 20 per cent over November because of a US$75 a tonne rise in the minimum export price and a late arriving crop.
The export volume this month will hit about 80,000 tonnes, according to the Hindu Business Line, down form 100,000 tonnes last month. That figure, however, still represents a 70 per cent increase over the same time last year.
“Apart from the increase in the minimum export price by US$75 a tonne within a month to boost domestic supply, late arrivals of the crop and depleting stocks are likely to dent the exports in December,” said a senior official from the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (Nafed).
He added export-quality onions hadn’t reached markets yet in major producing regions.
“Crop arrivals were delayed by over 15 days from the normal period of October end. That’s why even though new crops have started coming to the markets, it will take a while before export worthy onions can be fetched, as new crops normally have some moisture content,” he said.
The November estimate will bring India’s total onion export volume to 11.2m tonnes so far this financial year.
