Introduction

India consumes about 13 lakh tonne of onions every month, making it one of the most important vegetable crops for household consumption.

With about 1.4 million hectare under cultivation and production of about 24 million metric tonne (MMT) annually on average (2015-16 to 2021-22), India is the second-largest onion producer globally. The bulk of the supply comes from four states — Maharashtra (13.3 MMT), Madhya Pradesh (4.7 MMT), Karnataka (2.7 MMT), and Gujarat (2.5 MMT) — which together accounted for 75% of India’s production as of 2021-22.

Yet, onion is one of the most volatile agricultural commodities. A sharp increase in price impacts consumer budgets, while a fall in onion prices below the cost of cultivation reduces the income of farmers.