This onion tale will shock you to the core, make you shed real tears

Production value of onion is Rs 8.50 per kg. Farmers get Re 1 per kg! Consumers pay Rs 30 per kg! The crash in onion prices has hit farmers very badly. The cultivation of this cash crop, which has become political issue these days, has had tragic consequences. It has pushed the already impoverished farmers into the embrace of poverty. Some people are blaming state reforms on sale of farm commodities, while others say the situation has been caused due to middlemen in markets who are cornering all the the profit while the producers get nothing.
 
Citing a few case studies from Nasik in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, a Business Bhaskar report has analysed the existing scenario in the market, and came out with a startling revelation that farmers are investing Rs 8.50 to cultivate one kg onion, but are merely getting a rupee in the market. The most striking fact is that consumers too are not spared as they are paying through their nose. When it reaches the local markets, they have to cough up Rs 30 for a kg of onion.
 
The report said that in past one month retail prices have decreased by Rs 5. The consumer ministry data says that in Delhi one kg onion is available at Rs 25-27, in Nasik Rs 15, while it is priced between Rs 25 and Rs 30 in cities of Madhya Pradesh. The prices are more or less the same since the first week of December 2018, says Bhaskar report. 
 
Despite the government's claim of farmers getting 150% minimum support price (MSP) for their produce, onion farmers are finding it difficult to get even 15% of their investment, said the report. 
 
Lasalgaon at Nasik in Maharashtra is the biggest market for onion whose old produce is being sold at the rate of Rs 100-300 per quintal. However, the new crop is priced at Rs 800-1000. 
 
According to the report, onion contributed 1% of India's agriculture produce on the basis of value. The country is the second biggest producer of onion after China, and exports about 10% of the production.
 
In the year 2017-18, the states including Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka produced about 58% of the whole produce.