1 Date : 14.08.2013 Cotton Will Fetch Good Price, Says TNAU GOOD

1 Date : 14.08.2013 Cotton will fetch good price, says TNAU GOOD PRICE FOR COTTON The Domestic and Export Market Intelligence Cell (DEMIC) of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University has said that since the price of cotton will hover between Rs. 4,800 and Rs. 5,100 a quintal during January-February 2014, farmers can take up sowing in Avani-Puratasi (August-October). DEMIC arrived at the assessment after studying the market at Konganapuram Co-operative Marketing Society. At present farmers are getting a price of Rs. 5,200 to Rs. 5,500 a quintal for long staple cotton. Expected Kharif arrivals from all major growing States would stabilise cotton price during October- December. Onion prices decrease after recording a high Prices that hovered around Rs. 5,000 a quintal for theNasik variety on Monday were ruling between Rs. 4,000and Rs. 5,000 on Tuesday.— file photo With the increase in the arrivals of onion crop at the agricultural produce marketing committees (APMCs), the prices that had shot up in the last few days have started coming down. The spurt in onion prices is being attributed to the panic among onion merchants about shortfall in the produce, especially in the Nasik market, the main market for onion in the country. 2 According to onion traders in Hubli, which is one of the main markets for the produce in Karnataka, the panic is mainly because of the fact that the farmers in Maharashtra did not get the expected yield last year because of poor rain during the rabi season. With arrivals decreasing in the Nasik market, the merchants panicked which resulted in the sudden rise in price. Onion traders here said that the Union government’s decision to allow exports, bringing down arrivals in the local market, had nothing to do with the price rise. “No exporter would like to buy onion at the rate of Rs. 6,000 a quintal as he would not have any margin at all. And, moreover, why would the other countries buy onion at this rate from India, when they get it at cheaper rates from Egypt, Yemen and China,” said Saleem Byahatti, director of Hubli APMC and an onion trader. According to him, things have started improving with the arrival of onions grown at Challakere in Chitradurga district, Ajjampur in Chikmagalur district, and other places. Fresh arrivals have made an impact on the prices. Prices that hovered around Rs. 5,000 a quintal for the Nasik variety on Monday came down to between Rs. 4,000 and Rs. 5,000 per quintal on Tuesday. And, it was between Rs. 3,500 and Rs. 4,000 for the Challakere variety on Tuesday. From Saturday to Tuesday, there has been a decrease of Rs. 1,500 a quintal in the Hubli market. The Hubli market on Tuesday saw an arrival of 140 truckloads of onion and in the Bangalore market it was around 180 truckloads, with a majority being from the Challakere region. The assessment of traders is that by the first week of September, the prices might decrease as the arrivals from the irrigated land in Challakere, Ajjampur, and other districts of central and north Karnataka, and from Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh are expected to increase by that time. “Since it is raining, the standing crop is not being harvested in irrigated land. It is only a matter of few days and there will be sufficient arrivals of onion from Challakere, Ajjampur and Kurnool,” said HDMC councillor and onion trader Abdul Wahab Mulla. Although the erstwhile undivided Dharwad district (comprising Dharwad, Haveri and Gadag) is a major producer of onion, it is mostly under rainfed cultivation and the yield will start arriving at the APMCs by November. As arrivals would be huge by that time there would be further reduction in the onion prices. 3 CoS meet to wipe onion tears The panel is planning to crack down on hoarders and enhance the availability of onions Priced between Rs. 60 and Rs. 80 per kilogram in several parts of the country, onions are bringing tears to housewives. Concerned at the problem, the Committee of Secretaries is meeting here on Wednesday to take steps — including a crack down on hoarders — to ease the situation. Onion produce in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka was damaged due to excessive rain, which also delayed their arrivals. Mandi dispatches from the onion-producing districts of Lasalgaon and Pimalgaon in Nasik, Maharashtra have been lower by 40 and 27 per cent between April and July this year on account of the inclement weather. The officials, headed by Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth, will also look at measures to enhance availability of onions, possibly including a nod for duty free imports. Thomas, Pawar meet On Tuesday, Minister of State for Food and Consumer Affairs K.V. Thomas spoke to Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on the issue. The government is closely monitoring the situation before deciding on allowing duty free imports on government account. Shortfall Although there is a shortfall of about 8.56 lakh tonnes in the production of the bulb this year compared to last year, there is no immediate move to ban exports or set an export price to dissuade traders. But there is a suspicion that onions are being hoarded by traders and even big farmers for speculation. In 2012-13, India exported 18.23 lakh tonnes of onions compared to 15.53 lakh tonnes during 2011-12. Normally, onion prices tend to rise between September and November as the stored onion stocks get depleted by August, September. Once the rabi stocks arrive the situation normalises. Declining market arrivals Compared to last year, this year market arrivals declined by up to 40 per cent during June and July due to creation of “artificial scarcity,” sources in the Food Ministry sources said. For instance, the modal price of the commodity in Lasalgaon on August 1 was Rs. 2401 per quintal. It shot up to Rs. 4300 per quintal on August 12. 4 The country has a stock of about 9 lakh tonnes of onions, which should help it tide over the situation till the next kharif crop arrives in the beginning of October. However, if prices continue to rise, we will have to enhance availability, Mr. Thomas told The Hindu . In 2011, the Centre had sold subsidised onions through its Nafed outlets. Farmers’ grievances day The agricultural grievances day meet would be held at the collectorate at 10.30 a.m. here on Friday (August 16). Petitions already submitted would be taken up for discussion along with the current issues concerning agriculture, a release here on Tuesday. Tail-end areas yearning for water Heavily silted irrigation channels and bone dry beds decelerate the flow of water There seems to be no end in sight for the woes of tail-end area farmers in Karur and Tiruchi districts as they continue to yearn for the water released from the Cauvery into the irrigation channels some days ago. Beset with drought conditions for a particularly long period that drained them all of energy and spirit, farmers in the tail-end areas of Karur district such as Nangavaram, Nachalur, and Thayanur along with the farmers in the borders of Tiruchi district including Ettarai and Koppu regions that fall under the Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s Srirangam Assembly constituency were hoping that the water released into the Kattalai High Level Channel would some how reach their fields in time for taking up farm operations. However, the heavily silted irrigation channel coupled with the bone dry beds that absorbed water quickly decelerated the flow impeding water from reaching the tail-end areas. Farmers in the regions have been demanding for long to take up dredging works in the irrigation channels to facilitate easy flow of water. But the PWD River Conservancy Division could not take up the works owing to a plethora of problems, most of which were not concerning the farmers. Delay in assessing the situation, processing the plans, sanctioning of funds, and getting administrative clearance for the works were just a few of the hindrances that worked against farmers’ interests. “Suddenly rains in Kodagu region flooded the Cauvery and forced the PWD to let water in irrigation channels that branch off Cauvery at Mayanur. The officials were least prepared to assist the region farmers to utilise the full flow as water simply could no go beyond 5 certain distance in the irrigation channels courtesy the heavy silt and wild growth,” points out a floriculturist S. Gurumurthy of Koppu. “We have been pleading with the State government for the renovation of irrigation channels including South Bank Canal and Kattalai High Level Channel that feed the fields in the border of the two districts. Shutters and sluices in the channels must have been renovated and the damaged items must have been replaced. But none of those demands were met and we are forced to suffer now when there is flow in the river and we could not utilise it,” says deputy secretary of the Cauvery Delta Farmers’ Welfare Association Kavandampatti R. Subramanian. The agony is that when the river is carrying water in full the tail-end areas of the channels are still yearning for water. That situation must be addressed expeditiously to quench the thirst of farmers, Mr.Subramanian says. Egg rate The National Egg Coordination Committee egg rate was fixed at Rs. 3.20 on Tuesday, according to sources here. Water storage improves in tanks Water release from Mettur reservoir has helped enhance the storage in Pudukottai tanks. About 30 per cent of the water realised in the release has been stored in 80 tanks of the district, Collector C.

Load more