Farmgate price of shallot to remain at Rs 50 per kg

Coimbatore: The Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) has forecast the shallot (small onion) farmgate price to remain around Rs 50 per kg for the next few months, before seeing a rise in March 2021, when another round of harvest would take place.
It attributed the high prices to shortage of supply as pests, diseases and incessant rain had damaged the crop across the state.
Small onions are usually cultivated four times a year. In Tamil Nadu, shallots are mainly grown in Perambalur, Trichy, Dindigul, Tirupur and Namakkal districts.
“This year, Purattasi and Karthigai Pattam crop were severely affected by pest and other diseases. Markets now receive poor quality of shallots from farmers,” said a statement from the TNAU’s Centre for Agricultural and Rural Development Studies. “As per the trade sources, roughly 9,000 hectares of crop area is affected by this pest-disease complex.”
The centre has advised the farmers to take necessary preventative measures to save the crop in the coming months.
Based on 10 years’ historical prices prevailing in the Dindigul vegetable market, the centre has forecast the farmgate price of small onion at Rs 50 per kg for the next couple of months.