onions generic

As spring harvesting of onions in India gets underway, growers are predicting output will rise this year to 8m tonnes.

The spring season usually runs from the middle of March until the end of July and harvesting is now underway in major producing states, such as Maharashtra and Gujarat, according to a report in the Financial Express.

“As of now crop condition is very good and harvesting has commenced in major growing states,” said a senior official with the National Horticulture Research and Development Fund (NHRDF).

'Farmers are expecting rabi (spring) onion output to rise by 10 per cent to 8m tonnes, as against 7.3m tonnes in the same period last year,' he said.

The country's total production is expected to be around 13m tonnes in the 2010-11 crop year, as against 12.1m tonnes last year, according to NHRDF data.

The spring harvest typically accounts for around 60 per cent of the country’s onion production, according to the newspaper.