Garlic Prices To Stay High For Another 15 Days.

While consumers in the national capital heaved a sigh of relief with the easing of prices of onion and tomato, they continue to feel the pinch due to skyrocketing rates of garlic, which is ruling at Rs300 a kg in retail.

Price of garlic is hovering around Rs250-300 per kg in the national capital in retail for the past over 1.5 months, traders said.

They said consumers have to wait for another fortnight for the cost of the bulb to start coming down with arrival of fresh produce from Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra.

"New garlic crop will start coming in the markets in the national capital after February 15," vice-president of Azadpur market based Garlic Merchants Association, Jitendra Khurana told Press Trust of India.

Garlic is used for flavouring various dishes and is also used as an important ingredient in Ayurvedic medicines.

An important bulb crop, garlic is selling at Rs120-170 a kg in the wholesale, Khurana added.

Khurana said Azadpur (Asia's biggest fruits & vegetables wholesale market) is witnessing almost 50% shortage in supply of garlic nowdays, which has pushed up its prices.

"Against a daily requirement of about 90 tonnes of garlic, Azadpur market is getting around 45 tonnes of the produce now," Khurana, himself in the garlic trade for over two decades, added.

He attributed the paucity to drop in production to the tune of 30% in 2010 in the bulk producing states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh mainly due to unseasonal rains.

Garlic Merchants Association president Surendra Budhi Raj pointed to large-scale export of garlic to Pakistan in mid-2010 which had also contributed to the short supply.

"Heavy export of garlic to Pakistan between April and June this year (2010) has resulted in shortage of the spice in the domestic markets," Budhi Raj said, adding many farmers had uprooted their crop prematurely to cash in the situation.

He said garlic export to the neighbouring country has stopped now as it's no more profitable with rise in prices back home itself.

Although India ranks second in area (86,000 hectares) under garlic cultivation, it has the third position in production at 3,50,000 tonnes.

China ranks first in area and production of garlic.

Madhya Pradesh is the leading garlic producing state accounting for more than 35% of area and 38% of production.

India exports garlic to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Arabian countries. Garlic is sown in September-October and is harvested in February-March.

Source : dnaindia.com