Onions to get a new lease of life from gamma rays

livemint.com:

Please see: Barc to help preserve onion stocks “Both these ministries will provide financial assistance to create the irradiation facilities and corresponding cold storage under the PPP mode so that private players can operate the same sustainably," he added. The units will be set up along with the state government as public-private partnerships. The move is expected to soothe the onion supply chain which sees losses of as much as ₹10,000 crore every rabi season, and aid the government's procurement plans.

Maharashtra cultivates 43% of India's onion, followed by Madhya Pradesh (15%), Karnataka (9%) and Gujarat (9%). The move comes after the government lifted the ban on onion exports but slapped a 40% export tariff and $550 per tonne minimum export price earlier this month. Also read: An export ban didn't cool onion prices.

Now what? The plan follows an initial trial in association with the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) for 5,000 tonnes of onion that showed irradiation boosts storage period till seven and a half months, compared to the typical cold storage period of around four months. The trial also showed that the recovery of Grade A onion has been nearly 84%, as opposed to 56% when stored in typical onion storage or kandachawl. This year, the government plans to build an onion buffer of 500,000 tonnes, aiming to check price volatility.

The buffer is built by procuring onions from rabi harvest for release in major consumption centres during the lean season. India has two harvest seasons, with rabi fetching 65% of the total onion output. Rabi onion is harvested in April-June and stored for release, until the kharif variety hits the market in October-November.