ARUN, M.SOUNDARYA, G.2023-05-122023-05-122023-03-30Th-13619https://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810197279Demand for onion being uniform, its production is season bound – Rabi-70%, Kharif-30%. Heavy downpour during standing crop contracts production, leading to price surge. Minimum Export Price (MEP) has been employed by government consistently for over a decade. This study analyzes effectiveness of MEP policy, explores changes in onion production pattern across Indian states and assesses impact of MEP on Export Unit Value (EUV). This study used secondary data on month-wise export, CPI, MEP, EUV and analyzed using Compound Annual Growth Rate, Linear Regression, Seasonality Index and ARIMA – Xreg function. Productivity growth of onion (2.30%) and area expansion (2.74%) led to increased production (5.36%). Onion production is concentrated in rabi (3.72%). Top ten states with more than 85% acreage, contributes 70-80% of total onion production. Maharashtra (Rabi - 33-35%) and Karnataka (Kharif 13-18%) are key contributors. Onion prices remained higher during off seasons (September to February), while slumping in peak rabi onion harvest months (April-July) with the trend getting more prominent of late. With Xreg ARIMA coefficient value close to zero (0.5), MEP indicated a positive and statistically significant influence on CPI. It was noted that India is a major rabi exporter (9.6 lakh tonnes, 27%) of onion with the small share in kharif (2.80 lakh tonnes, 7%) and late kharif (2.63 lakh tonnes, 5%) season. The regression results revealed MEP to be directly influencing the EUV, while opposite being true about export quantity. Study observes the need for season-wise compilation of onion production statistics for a meaningful policy analysis.EnglishThesis