Onion Price Hits Rock Bottom, Sells at Re 1 Per Kilo in Karnataka
Bengaluru, Nov 21: If you find too many onion pieces in your food at a north Indian restaurant in Karnataka, don't be surprised. A kilogram of onion costs just a rupee at wholesale markets in the state!
The onion price has hit rock-bottom in the last one week and the growers are literally crying in Karnataka, one of the largest producers of India's most essential vegetable.
The onion is selling at Rs 100 for a bag of 100 kilograms in Hubli, Dharwad, Haveri, Gadag, Bagalkote, Belgaum, Davangere and Chitradurga wholesale markets. A week ago, the price was about Rs 500 per quintal and it crashed to Rs 200 a day later.
The free fall of onion price has triggered panic across onion growing districts of Belgaum, Bijapur, Bagalkote, Dharwad, Haveri, Gadag, Davangere, Chitradurga and others.
According to farmer leaders, there has been a sudden arrival of large quantity of onion from across Karnataka and Maharashtra in the market, leading to price crash.
"The output has been good across Karnataka this year. The farmers have brought the crop to market. But the price is too low. They can't recover even their transportation charge, forget the cultivation cost," said a farmer from Dharwad district.
Karnataka exports most of its onion to neighbouring Tamil Nadu, Kerala and northern states. The truckers had stopped plying to Tamil Nadu because of Cyclone Gaja for over a week, resulting in price crash in Karnataka.
"It may take a few more days to resume onion supply to Tamil Nadu. Left with no other options, some farmers are selling onion for just Re 1 per kilo," said a trader from Hubli.
In north Indian markets, Karnataka competes with Maharashtra onion and over 40,000 bags of onions from the western state have arrived in Rajasthan's Alwar market, nearly 166 km from Delhi, on Monday further pushing the price down, claims another trader.
The farmer associations have asked state and Centre to come to the rescue of hapless growers immediately. "Whenever onion price goes up, the media covers it like tsunami. It happens once in five years may be. Onion price crashes every year forcing many farmers to end their lives. Sadly, no media covers it and the government does nothing," said a veteran farmer leader C Narasimhappa.
The lack of storage facilities and proper guidance to farmers are said to be the main reasons for onion price crash as the growers can't hoard their produces for a longer period.
Courtesy: www.news18.com
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Canada, US to launch formal talks to review their free trade agreement in mid-January
Toronto (AP): Canada and the US will launch formal discussions to the review their free trade agreement in mid-January, the office of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said.
The prime minister confirmed to provincial leaders that Dominic LeBlanc, the country's point person for US-Canada trade relations, “will meet with US counterparts in mid-January to launch formal discussions," Carney's office said in a statement late Thursday.
The United States-Mexico-Canada trade pact, or USMCA, is up for review in 2026. US President Donald Trump negotiated the deal in his first term and included a clause to possibly renegotiate the deal in 2026.
Carney met with the leaders of Canada's provinces on Thursday to give them an update on trade talks with the US.
Canada is one of the most trade-dependent countries in the world, and more than 75 per cent of Canada's exports go to the country's southern neighbour. But most exports to the US are currently exempted by USMCA.
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Trump cut off trade talks to reduce tariffs on certain sectors with Carney in October after the Ontario provincial government ran an anti-tariff advertisement in the US. That followed a spring of acrimony, since abated, over Trump's insistence that Canada should become the 51st US state.
Carney said earlier Thursday that Canada and the US were close to an agreement at the time on sectoral tariff relief in multiple areas, including steel and aluminum. Tariffs are taking a toll on certain sectors of Canada's economy, particularly aluminum, steel, auto and lumber.
Carney also said trade irritants flagged this week by US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are elements of a “much bigger discussion” about continental trade. Greer said a coming review of the Canada-US-Mexico trade deal will hinge on resolving US concerns about Canadian policies on dairy products, alcohol and digital services.
Carney and the provincial premiers agreed to meet in person in Ottawa early in the new year.
Canada is the top export destination for 36 US states. Nearly USD 3.6 billion Canadian (USD 2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border each day.
About 60 per cent of US crude oil imports are from Canada, as are 85 per cent of US electricity imports.
Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum and uranium to the US and has 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon is eager for and investing in for national security.
Carney said US access to Canada's critical ministers is not a certainty.
“It's a potential opportunity for the United States, but it's not an assured opportunity for the United States. It's part of a bigger discussion in terms of our trading relationship, because we have other partners around the world, in Europe for example, who are very interested in participating,” Carney said earlier Thursday.
