Garlic rates fall badly right after harvest when everyone sells together. Should I store and wait, and how do I decide?
How to manage when to sell garlic (lehsun) and avoid the post harvest price crash in MP?
LLokendra Patidar5mo ago · 229 views
7 Answers
🌾Farmer.in Krishi TeamExpert ✓5mo ago
Garlic prices swing a lot and often dip at peak harvest arrivals, so storage can help if your quality and holding conditions are good. Well cured, firm, dry garlic of a good keeping variety can be held for some months in a cool, dry, ventilated store and sold when arrivals thin out and rates improve, but poorly cured garlic loses weight and rots, so do not store low quality lots. Grade your produce, since bold, clean, white bulbs fetch a clear premium over small and stained ones. Track garlic arrivals and rates across mandis on the Agmarknet portal and sell where arrivals are lower and spread your sales across time rather than dumping everything at once. Selling through an FPO or to processors and distant markets can also beat the local crash. Garlic markets can be volatile, so do not bank on a single big price.
BBherulal5mo ago
Two seasons I gambled holding the whole stock for a high price and it never came. Now I sell part early and store only my best graded bulbs.
KKanhaiyalal Patidar4mo ago
Grading by size and colour clearly paid for me. The bold, clean white bulbs went at a much better rate while my small and stained ones barely moved. Sorting before selling, and offering the premium grade separately, got me a better average than selling everything mixed.
SShyam Sundar Mali4mo ago
Remember weight loss while holding. Garlic dries and loses weight in store, so even if the rate climbs a bit, you are selling fewer kilos. I weigh that against the price I expect before deciding to hold. If quality is only average, selling soon is often the wiser choice.
SSita Patidar4mo ago
Spreading my sales over several mandi visits worked better than waiting for one big peak. The high price is hard to catch and the moment rates rise the arrivals jump. Selling in lots across weeks gave me a steadier average than gambling on a single day.
GGhanshyam Dhakad4mo ago
Selling through our FPO reached buyers beyond the local mandi during the crash. The collected, graded lot got better attention and rate than each of us turning up alone at the same flooded market. Worth asking if there is a producer group in your area.
VVimla Mali3mo ago
Work out your break even before deciding to hold. Between the storage loss, the weight loss and the time, holding only pays if the recovery clearly beats your cost. I keep only my best graded bulbs and sell the rest at harvest, instead of betting the whole stock on a price that may never come.