Know your onions (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 3 : Economy
Prelims level : Not much
Mains level : Storage facilities for farm produce

Context

• Ever since the Delhi government was ousted in 1998 by popular outrage over a spurt in onion prices, politicians have been wary of this vegetable.
• The political response should solve, not structurally worsen, the problem that lies at the root of the occasional shortage of the vegetable.

Ban on onions export

• The ban on export of onions that the central government has imposed follows in a traditional route and ignores the need for the farmer to get better terms of trade, paving the way for future shortage.
• Onion is a relatively small crop, a little over 15 million tonnes in India.
• China cultivates a lower area, but is the world’s largest producer, because its yield is about half as much higher than in India.

Hurting many

• Bangladesh is very unhappy with India’s export ban,because that has worsened the shortage there.
• Sudden export bans shut off the possibility of the farmer getting a bumper price for his crop, something that he feels he is entitled to, as the obverse of the distress sale he often has to undertake.
• The sensible course is proper storage at times of harvest and steady decumulation of stocks over the year.
• This will not help, however, in case of a sudden shortfall in output, thanks to flooding or unseasonal rains, as has happened this year.

Conclusion

• Instead of banning exports, the government should encourage export of onion in its raw and processed forms.
• The govt. must invest in food technology that would permit farmers to increase output without fear of distress sales, onion offtake assured because of its storage in a processed state.

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Prelims Questions:

Q.1) Consider the following pairs:
Tiger Reserve - located in (State)
1. Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve – Madhya Pradesh
2. Satkosia Tiger Reserve – Odisha
3. Buxa Tiger Reserve - Bihar

Which of the above pairs is/are correctly matched?
A. 1 only
B. 1 and 2 only
C. 1, 2 and 3
D. None of the above.

Answer: B
Mains Questions:
Q.1) What are the aftermath impact on banning the onion export?