Storage shortage hits Karnataka’s onion farmers, may spike prices for consumers in lean season
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Hubballi: A shortage of adequate storage facilities in Karnataka is taking a toll on onion farmers, who are unable to secure fair prices for their produce, while consumers face inflated prices during the lean season.
Karnataka, the country’s second-largest onion producer after Maharashtra, boasts an average annual output of 38.91 lakh tonnes. However, the lack of central storage facilities discourages farmers from growing onions as a rabi or summer crop, despite this being the optimal season for cultivation due to reduced risk of onions catching diseases and better shelf life, as reported by Deccan Herald on Sunday.
On an average, Karnataka can store only 3.75 lakh tonnes of onion in its central storage facilities. “In spite of favourable conditions for onion cultivation, we are unable to meet the demand and Maharashtra is benefiting from this,” DH quoted B. Ravi Shankar, Secretary of the Potato-Onion Merchants’ Association, Bengaluru, as saying.
He stressed the need for at least one large storage facility, with a 10,000-tonne capacity, in every district. Such infrastructure, he argued, would encourage more farmers to grow onions during the rabi season and regulate prices during the lean period between October and November.
The dry regions of Karnataka like Vijayapura, Gadag, Ballari, Koppal, Dharwad, Belagavi, Chitradurga and Kolar are some of the major onion growing districts in the state. However, these districts lack large storage facilities.
Meanwhile, onion prices have decreased across APMCs in Karnataka due to a bumper yield this year. In Bengaluru, wholesale prices are ranging between Rs 14 and Rs 21 per kg, while retail prices hover around Rs 25 to Rs 28. On an average, onions are priced at Rs 40 a kg, and can spike to Rs 100 during the lean months.
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RCB secure IPL playoff berth with 23-run win against Punjab Kings
Dharamsala (PTI): Royal Challengers Bengaluru rode on fluent half-centuries from Virat Kohli and Venkatesh Iyer, along with a decisive opening spell from pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, to thrash Punjab Kings by 23 runs and seal a playoff berth in the IPL here on Sunday.
Kohli (58 off 37 balls), Iyer (73 not out off 40 balls) and Devdutt Padikkal (45) produced impactful knocks as RCB piled up 222 for 4 in 20 overs.
Bhuvneshwar (2/38) then removed the dangerous Punjab Kings opening pair of Priyansh Arya (0) and Prabhsimran Singh (2) early to all but shut the door on the opposition, who eventually managed 199 for 8 in their allotted 20 overs.
Pacer Rasikh Salam (3/36) compounded Punjab Kings' misery by dismissing skipper Shreyas Iyer (1) in the fourth over as the hosts slumped to 19 for 3.
Late-order batters Shashank Singh (56 off 27 balls) and Marcus Stoinis (37 off 25 balls) attempted to revive the innings with a counter-attacking effort, but the towering RCB total ultimately proved far beyond PBKS' reach.
Earlier, Kohli stitched together a 76-run stand with Devdutt for the second wicket to lay the foundation before adding another 60 runs with Venkatesh for the third wicket as table-toppers RCB delivered yet another authoritative batting display.
Brief Scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 222 for 4 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 58, Devdutt Padikkal 45, Venkatesh Iyer 73 not out; Harpreet Brar 2/35).
Punjab Kings: 199 for 8 in 20 overs (Cooper Connolly 37, Suryansh Shedge 35, Marcus Stoinis 37, Shashank Singh 56; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2/38, Rasikh Salam 3/36).
