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.
