THE price of onion has not normalized despite the import of some 900 tons from India. It is the second consecutive year when the prices have soared abnormally in retail markets. As usual, the reason given for this sudden rise by the concerned government agencies is the bad crop in Balochistan which accounts for some 35 per cent of the country’s output.
The question is that one does not wake up one fine morning just to find that the onion crop production could not come up to the expectations due to some reasons. The agriculture department, at least should have known that the off seasonal rainfall in Balochistan would adversely affect the crop. They should have planned before time to meet the demand and supply gap.
This attitude on the part of the agriculture department is not acceptable as the manifold rise in the price of this staple produce is causing hardship to the people who can ill-afford to purchase onion at its current high price.
Unexpected rains during the sowing season have ruined the chances of a good harvest. However, hoarding too, has added hike in the prices much beyond the realistic level. The crisis is partly man-made because of the ineptitude of the government to come to the aid of people.
The government should immediately take note of the situation and find ways and means to stabilize the prices. It will also be worth investigating how much of the current hike has to do with hoarding and black marketing by the middlemen and profiteers.
Onion is the largest vegetable produced and consumed not only in Pakistan but all around the world. It assumes a place of essential item of our daily food intake, which adds to taste and flavour. In addition, it is also relished in raw form with meals and is consumed by all classes.
According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, there are an estimated seven million acres of land in the world, producing over 32 million tons of onion each year. Approximately nine per cent of the global onion production is traded internationally.
Pakistan not only stands among the world’s top onion producing countries but is also among the countries with the highest per capita consumption. The average consumption is approximately 6.5kg of onions per person each year across the world. Per capita consumption in Pakistan is reported to be 10kg per annum.
However, Turkey has the highest onion per capita consumption with 36.6kg each year leaving behind Libya which has 32kg.
Keeping in view the consumption level and rate at which our population is expanding, the country must produce around 15 million tons of onion, annually. To become and remain self-sufficient, not only production area but the national yield will have to be increased, substantially. Our average onion yield stands somewhere around 14 tons per hectare only, as against Korea’s 54, Australia’s 45, Japan’s 37, and Iran’s 30 tons per hectare.
Although there has been progressive increase in the area and production of onion over the years but this could not serve the local requirement consistently, as is evident from the recurring shortages during the past many years. In 1999-2000, the area increased to around 110 thousand hectare, production 1,648 thousand tons, and yield to 15 tons/ha. Since then, both the area and yield have been declining for one reason or the other, thereby creating onion shortages.
Despite being, among the leading producers, consistency in the availability of the commodity round the year has remained an issue which needs to be addressed urgently. Over-production sometimes pulls onion prices at rock-bottom levels due to the non-availability of storage facilities and export guidance. This discourages the farmers to go for higher production. At other times the price skyrockets on account of production shortages, pest attack, hoarding, and illegal exports showing and inefficiency of the concerned agencies.
Keeping in view the favourable conditions for onion production, particularly in Sindh and Balochistan, it is required that small to medium size farms should be set up in potential areas and all sorts of help from the concerned departments be extended.
No doubt the crop is highly sensitive to vagaries of nature and to provide respite, and help to stabilize the markets in adverse conditions, attention of all concerned is requited.
It is a blessing that we have in our proximity many South East Asian and the Middle Eastern nations – major onion importers. There is an urgent need to adopt diverse strategies and produce newer varieties of onion to carve out a niche in the nearby international markets.
Onion export in the past has remained uncertain and irregular because of the production problems. Sometimes, it falls to such low levels that Pakistan opts to plug the gap through imports. At other times excess production drags the prices low.
Qualitative and quantitative improvement in both production and marketing over the years has established onion cultivation as a safe source of earning to farmers and to internal traders and exporters. It has now become a cash crop which is in demand in export market throughout the year, as well as in the entire country.
Promising agriculturists still believe that the country can become bigger producer and exporter in the region. To achieve this task, arrangements would have to be made to ensure that the onion producing areas are catapulted to the front-line by expanding its sowing area and increasing the yield.
To achieve this task, the government must plan and implement schemes like imparting technical guidance at each stage from sowing to production and post harvest management, including proper storing of the surplus quantity.
