Coimbatore (PTI): Onion prices are expected to rise by Rs 2-4 per kg in the coming months owing to poor supply, delayed monsoon and decreased Minimum Export Price (MEP), Tamil Nadu Agricultural University has said.

A survey by the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University has advised farmers to store small onion and sell them during October-November as its prices are expected to rise in the coming months.

Delayed monsoon, decreased Minimum Export Price (MEP) and reduced arrivals from Karnataka would support the prices to rule on the higher side in Tamil Nadu , according to the survey carried out by Domestic and Export Market Intelligence Cell (DEMIC) of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University.

If there was rainfall in Palladam, Tirupur, Perambalur and Erode areas in Tamil Nadu during harvest, the farmers' prices would increase beyond Rs 15 per kg, it said.

Arrivals from Karnataka have come to an end this year in early August itself, and currently farmers were getting a price of around Rs six to Rs 11 per kg depending on quality.

According to the study, for the next three months, the prices would hover around Rs eight to Rs 15 per kg.

India produced around 74.51 lakh tonnes of onion from 5.28 lakh hectare in 2007-08, which was 11 per cent higher than that of the previous year, as per the estimates of the National Horticulture Research and Development Foundation.

India exported about 11 lakh tonnes during the period, which was five per cent lesser than that of 2006-07, due to the government restrictions on export like increasing MEP and quantity restrictions.

Both production and export consisted of Bellary onion as well as small onions.

Bellary onion produced in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu were exported to Malaysia, Singapore, Seychelles, Bangladesh and Middle East countries.

Small onions, grown mostly in the southern states and also known as rose onion and Krishnapuram onion, were grown in Kolar district in Karnataka and Cuddapah District in Andhra Pradesh. Multiplier onion, known as 'podisu' and shallots, were grown in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Andhra Pradesh.

Small onion produced in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh were exported from Chennai port to Singapore and Malaysia and multiplier onions to Singapore, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.

MEP ranged from 360 USD per tonne of podisu onion to 520 USD a tonne for Bangalore rose onion.

The prices of small onion this month have increased by about 20 per cent. Despite the price increase, Centre has reduced MEP from 450 USD per tonne in July 2008 to 360 USD per tonne in August 2008, to encourage the exports of small onion

This would lead to further rise in prices in the domestic market, DEMIC predicted.

Tamil Nadu produced about 2.77 lakh tonne of onion from 0.27 lakh hectares in 2007-08. More than 75 per cent of this was constituted by small onion.

The study was carried out to answer queries by farmers whether the current arrivals would fetch higher prices or not and whether to sell immediately or store the small onion harvested and being harvested, following delayed monsoon and reduced arrivals from Karnataka.