ONIONS PRICE IN THE SKY

Supply and demand is perhaps one of the most fundamental concepts of economics and it is the backbone of a market economy. Demand refers to how much (quantity) of a product or service is desired by buyers. The quantity demanded is the amount of a product people are willing to buy at a certain price; the relationship between price and quantity demanded is known as the demand relationship. Supply represents how much the market can offer. The quantity supplied refers to the amount of a certain good producers are willing to supply when receiving a certain price. The correlation between price and how much of a good or service is supplied to the market is known as the supply relationship. Price, therefore, is a reflection of supply and demand. Necessity goods are goods that we can't live without and won't likely cut back on even when times are tough, for example food, power, water and gas. Now we can take a look on onions. In india onions rate stands at high. why? it is simple., the above principle applicable here.

Across the country, arrivals have decreased in all the major markets due to lower supply from Maharashtra and Gujarat region. The other reason for decrease in arrivals is lower late kharif crop this season and gap between arrivals of rabi crop as late kharif arrival is almost over. Depending on the production of onion, there is a seasonality in arrivals and prices every year. The changes in arrivals may occur due to a rise or fall in production, poorstorage, early harvesting, lack of retention power by growers and exports. However, now due to unseasonal rains, the production of onions declined. To some extent, this reduction in production was offset by marginally higher production in all onion cultivating states.The magnitude of decline in production did not affect arrivalsin the market very much. Staggered planting of onions with suitable varieties can address the supply gap during the slack period, thereby stabilising prices during all the year. As part of market reforms, minimum support prices for onions and the implementation of market intelligence systems can help in discovering the right prices for producers as well as consumers.

Hi`story`

Common onions are normally available in three colours: yellow, red, and white. Yellow onions, also called brown onions, are full-flavoured and are the onions of choice for everyday use. Yellow onions turn a rich, dark brown when caramelized and give French onion soup its sweet flavour. The red onion is a good choice for fresh use when its colour livens up the dish. It is also used in grilling and char-broiling. White onions are the traditional onions that are used in classic Mexican cuisine. They have a golden colour when cooked and a particularly sweet flavour when sauteed.

The onion plant (Allium cepa) is unknown in the wild but has been grown and selectively bred in cultivation for at least 7,000 years. It is a biennial plant but is usually grown as an annual. Modern varieties typically grow to a height of 15 to 45 cm (6 to 18 in). Bulbs from the onion family are thought to have been used as a food source for millennia. In Bronze Age settlements, traces of onion remains were found alongside date stones and fig remains that date back to 5000 BC. However, it is not clear if these were cultivated onions. Archaeological and literary evidence that onions were probably being cultivated around two thousand years later in ancient Egypt, at the same time that leeks and garlic were cultivated.

Energetic

In ancient Greece, athletes ate large quantities of onion because it was believed to lighten the balance of the blood. Roman gladiators were rubbed down with onions to firm up their muscles. In the Middle Ages, onions were such an important food that people would pay their rent with onions, and even give them as gifts. Doctors were known to prescribe onions to facilitate bowel movements and erections, and to relieve headaches, coughs, snakebite and hair loss. Most onion cultivars are about 89% water, 4% sugar, 1% protein, 2% fibre and 0.1% fat. They contain vitamin C, vitamin B6, folic acid and numerous other nutrients in small amounts. They are low in fats and in sodium, and with an energy value of 166kJ (40 kcal) per 100 g (3.5 oz) serving, they can contribute their flavour to savoury dishes without raising caloric content appreciably.

Onions were taken by the first settlers to North America, where the Native Americans were already using wild onions in a number of ways, eating them raw or cooked in a variety of foods. They also used them to make into syrups, to form poultices and in the preparation of dyes. Onions are cultivated and used around the world. As a foodstuff they are usually served cooked, as a vegetable or part of a prepared savoury dish, but can also be eaten raw or used to make pickles or chutneys. They are pungent when chopped and contain certain chemical substances which irritate the eyes. Onions contain phenolics and flavonoids that have potential anti-inflammatory, anti-cholesterol, anticancer and antioxidant properties.

Top Ten Onions Producers

China, India, United States, Egypt, Iran, Turkey, Pakistan, Brazil, Russia, Republic of Korea.It is estimated that around the World, over 9,000,000 acres (3,642,000 ha) of onions are grown annually. About 170 countries cultivate onions for domestic use and about eight percent of the global production is traded internationally.