India: Rabi onion sowing falls by 10-15% in main producing regions

Sowing of Rabi (winter) onions has fallen up to 20% in some main producing regions in Maharashtra and Karnataka till the first week of January amid While there are a few days still left before the sowing window draws to a close, industry experts said there. could be a 10-15% drop in the acreage of onion this season. This could push food inflation to higher levels around March-April, just before the Lok Sabha polls when the government will be under pressure to keep inflation at bay, some of them said. There could be some recovery in the current levels of sowing, however. , the season may end with a 10% drop in area under rabi onion cultivation eventually, said Pushan Sharma, director research at Crisil Market Intelligence and Analytics.Onions have 0.6 percentage points weight in overall inflation and 10 percentage points in the vegetable basket.Around 70% of the total onion produced in the country is during the Rabi season. Onions produced this season have a longer shelf life of ...