Supply Chain Management of Onion
Transcript of Supply Chain Management of Onion
Supply Chain Management of Onion
A Presentation By …
Divya Rawat (0829) & Hina Ansari (0863)
Onion…
Onion is generally known as…
Zwiebeln in German
Oignons in French
Cebollas in Spanish
Allium cepa in Scientific terms
The Product …
• The edible onion belongs to the lily family (Liliaceae) and comes originally from Central Asia.
• The ripening process starts when the onion bulb proper forms. Bulb formation is determined by day length and varies with the variety of onion.
• Postharvest, the onion undergoes a post-ripening process. • The roots, peduncle and outermost scale leaves dry; the latter
change color and lie tightly around the onion neck, providing protection against evaporation and attack from microorganisms.
• Process further assisted by subsequent post-drying.
Statistics• India exported a record 1.6 million tonne of onion in the
financial year 2008-09 against 1.1 million tonne in the previous year, largely due to strong demand from Iran and Pakistan.
• The Gulf countries are the main importers of the onion from India. Pakistan, China and Iran are India’s main competitors in the global market.
• The country’s onion exports have increased from 8.29 lakh tonne during 2003-04 to 1.1 million tonne during 2007-8. During 2007-08, India exported onions worth of Rs 1,285.82 crore.
Quality Determinants
When inspecting the cargo to be loaded, it is essential to payattention to the following points:• The onions must not be wet or covered with condensation;
instead, they must be dry and parchment-like, which may be discerned from the "lovely rustling sound" the bag makes when lifted.
• The onions must be fully developed and well ripened, they should be round and not flat and must not be soft to the touch.
• The onion neck must be closed and not thick, which would be an indication of inadequate ripeness.
• No peduncle residues must be left on the onions: these must be twisted off, not cut off, as there is otherwise a risk of onion neck rot.
• The roots must be dry and free of soil, which contains rot pathogens.• The onions should where possible not have sprouted or have done so
only slightly.• Mechanically damaged, squashed onions must always be rejected, as
they cause rapid spoilage due to more intense respiration. • Loose-skinned onions are fit for shipping provided that they are dry
and not damaged.• The onions must be sound and free from rodents.
ONION EXPORTS IN THE LAST 5 YEARS
S.no. Year Onion Export From India (MT)
Export value in Crores
1. 2003-04 8.29 672.35
2. 2004-05 9.44 817.49
3. 2005-06 7.70 620.27
4. 2006-07 11.61 1135.42
5. 2007-08 11.01 1285.82
Onion Exports from India…
• India majorly exports onion to Singapore, Malaysia, Middle East, Sri
Lanka, Maldives, Mauritius etc. besides having enquiries from other
countries too.
• Consumers in the importing countries have traditionally developed
special taste and liking for Nasik/ Pune/ Bombay onion due to its
pungency, flavour and colour. These qualities have had an added
advantage for Nasik/ Pune/ Bombay onion in the export market.
Quality for Export of Onion
Country Colour Size Remarks
Middle East and Gulf
(Dubai, Sharjah, Doha,
Muscat, Bahrain,
Damman, Saudi Arabia,
Kuwait)
Light red to dark red 40 - 60 mm Globular / Pungent
Malaysia, Singapore,
Port Kelang & African
Ports
Dark red to violet 25 - 30 mm Globular / Pungent
Sri Lanka Dark red to light red 25 - 30 mm Globular or Oval
Bangladesh, Pakistan &
Nepal Light red to dark red 25 - 30 mm Globular Pungent
Europe Yellowish / Brown 60 - 70 mm Globular / Less
Pungent
Japan Yellowish / Brown 60 - 70 mm Globular / Less
Pungent
Agri Export Zones
• Promote greater exports of Onion and its products from the State.
• Maharashtra leads in production of Onion in the country today (66000 Ha area with 1324000 MT production).
• Fresh onion is exported from the State in large quantities. • Exports of value added or processed onion is taking place in
limited quantities.
Brief Details…
• A number of activities suggested under the AEZ to facilitate exports, include interventions in Production, Post Harvest practices, processing and Marketing areas leading to an integrated approach for export development.
• Creation of and up gradation of post harvest infrastructure required for Exports.
• Project outlay is Rs. 3224 Lakhs over a 5 year period• Financial support from Government Agencies estimated at Rs. 1912 Lakhs
and investment from Private entrepreneurs at Rs. 1312 Lakhs. • Expected to result in increased exports of 59000 MT of fresh Onion over
the next 5 years valued at Rs. 6500 Lakhs and processed onion exports of 16775 MT valued at Rs.7650 Lakhs.
POST-HARVEST MANAGEMENT
Post-harvest management of bulbs
• The impact of post-harvest technology is found better when it
is combined with pre-harvest factors determining shelf-life
and thus integrated approach is absolutely essential as no
single factor can show required impact as also the response of
various factors depend on prevailing weather conditions.
• Eg.:- Application of thiophanate methyl @ 0.1% + streptocyclin or klorocin @ 0.2% + ekalux @ 0.25% immediately after neck cut and combined with field and shade curing is promising under North Indian conditions
• Stage of harvesting plays a major role in determining the shelf-life of onions as it is linked with physiological maturity of bulbs.
• Stage of curing is another important step of post-harvest handling to reduce losses and maintain quality of bulbs in storage.
Shed curing
Windrow curing
• Sorting and grading should be done at field level to minimize post-harvest losses at subsequent stages.
• Use of consumer packing for graded bulbs, avoid drop of bulbs from more than 30 cm height, avoid sunscald by eliminating over-drying of outer scales directly in sun etc. improve shelf-life of onions.
• Perforated hessian bags and plastic-woven bags are used for onion packing to permit proper ventilation.
• Tier system of transportation on poor roads, restriction of loading height in trucks and wagons, providing ventilation in railway wagons and quick movement of onion wagons or truck loads minimize the post-harvest losses of onions.
• Use of irradiation improves shelf-life of onions.
Harvesting
• Manual harvesting • Mechanical harvesting• Two-phase harvesting of onions
Cleaning
• Freedom from any impurity, which may materially alter the
appearance or eating quality, is essential.
• Soil and other foreign materials must be removed and badly
affected produce must be discarded.
• Cleaning may be carried out using air or by manually
removing unwanted materials on the bulb surface.
• Care should be taken to avoid physical injury on the bulb
during these operations.
Packaging
• Good packaging for onions must meet the following criteria:
(a) strong enough to retain the required weight of onions under
the conditions of transport and storage
(b) allow sufficient ventilation for the air around the bulbs to
maintain relative humidity in the required range, and
(c) In many circumstances, provide a means of displaying legally
required and commercially necessary information
Onions can be packaged and stored in a variety of containers
such as boxes, cartons, bags, bulk bins, pre-packs, plastic film
bags, and stretch-wrapped trays.
• Onion Bags
Sacks and nets used for onion packaging fall into three groups:
general-purpose jute sacks
open-weave sacks of sisal-like fibre
open-mesh nets, normally of plastic materials
• Rigid Packages
The principal rigid containers
are
trays (10-15 kg of onions each),
boxes (up to 25 kg)
bulk bins (up to 1000 kg)
• Onion Pre-packs capacity of
0.5-1.5 kg.
Transport
• Means of transportShip, aircraft, truck, railroad
• Symbols :
Container transport
• As chilled goods: Refrigerated Containers with fresh air
supply or controlled atmosphere.
As general cargo: actively ventilated containers, open-sided
containers, Open top Containers, flatracks (for loading below
deck)
Parameters for controlled atmosphere transport
O2
Designation Temperature Rel.Humidity O2 CO2 Suitability for controlled atmosphere
Onions dry 0.6-1.7°C 65-75% 1-2% 0% good
Onions Green 0.6-1.7°C 95-100% 2-4% 10-20% good
Cargo Handling
• Since onions are highly sensitive to impact and pressure, they must be handled with appropriate care.
• Damage to onions, caused by setting them down roughly for example, results in greater respiration intensity and self-heating.
• The required refrigeration temperature must always be maintained, even during cargo handling.
• In damp weather (rain, snow), the cargo must be protected from moisture, since this may lead to self-heating, sprouting, root growth and packaging decay.
Risk factors and loss prevention
Temperature
Where journey times are relatively long or a relatively long
storage life is desirable, onions must be transported under
temperature-controlled conditions.
Ventilation
If the onions are transported as standard general cargo
rather than as chilled goods, 25 air circulations/h with
constant supply of fresh air will suffice.
Humidity/Moisture
Onions require a lower, temperature-dependent equilibrium
moisture content than other vegetable cargoes with a high
water
Content.Their particular relative humidity requirements stem
from the protective function of the outermost scale leaves,
which need to be kept dry.
Biotic activity : Care of the cargo during the voyage must be
aimed at controlling respiration processes
(release of CO2, water vapor, ethylene and heat) in such a way
that the cargo is at the desired stage of ripeness on reaching its
destination
Mechanical influences : No more than 12 bags should be stowed
on top of one another, as too great a
stack height leads to bruising, excessive heating and rot.
Insect infestation / Diseases
The quarantine regulations of the country of destination must be
complied with and a phytosanitary certificate may have to be
enclosed with the shipping documents. Information may be
obtained from the phytosanitary authorities of the countries
concerned.
Odour
• Active behavior - Onions have an unpleasant, pungent odor.
An increase in odor levels indicates self-heating, which is
associated with the loss of essential oils, sugar and vitamins.
• Passive behavior - Onions are highly sensitive to odor-
emitting goods and should not be stowed in a hold together
with hides, furs, bones or other animal products.
Contamination
• Active behavior - Onions produce dust.
• Passive behavior - Onions are sensitive to dirt, fats and oils.
They may turn brown, especially if the previous cargo was
ammonia (NH3).
Hazards to health
• If ventilation has been inadequate , life-threatening CO2
concentrations or O2 shortages may arise. Therefore, before
anybody enters the hold, it must be ventilated.
• In marine transport, no access is permitted to the holds
without breathing apparatus or until they have been
ventilated for a long enough period.
Storage of onions
• Storage temperature and humidity affect loss in weight, respiration rate, sprouting, rotting and quality of bulbs in storage.
• The dormancy in onion bulbs is the main factor to determine as how long the bulbs can be stored.
• Inherent characters of dormancy based on equilibrium of inhibitors in onion bulbs also gets affected by temperature where lower (00C) and higher (300C) temperature increase the dormant state of onion bulbs and moderate (10-150C) temperature enhance the sprouting losses by breaking dormancy.
Manglore tiled storage Improved ventilatedstorage strucrure
3-tier onion storage structure Improved low cost storage structure
Salient features of improved storage structures
• Construction of structure on raised platform to prevent
moisture contact and dampness.
• Providing bottom ventilation for free and faster air circulation
to avoid formation of hot and humid pockets between the
onion layers.
• Avoid direct sunlight on onion bulbs to reduce sunscald,
fading of colour and quality deterioration.
• Maintenance of stacking height to 100 cm for small and
multiplier onions and hot weather and 120 cm for mild
weather and for big onions to avoid pressure bruising.
• One cubic meter area of store accommodates about 750 kg
onions. Accordingly construction of godown for required
capacity and construction of more units instead of single big
structure and in zigzag manner when constructed in more
rows to have better aeration.
• Restriction on width of each stack to 60-75 cm for hot and
humid weather, 75 - 90 cm for mild and humid weather and
90-120 cm for mild and dry weather conditions.
• Periodical disinfection of structures and premises to check
rottage. The cost-efficient of structures is based on locally -
available materials and labour.
Processing
Processing
• Processing onion: (diameter) 50 -150 mm • Production efficiency : 100-120 pcs/Minute• The total power : 7.8 KW • High-pressure air system• Equipment configuration
dimensions: length X width X height = 3.7 m x1.51 m X2.33 m
Various Products of onion
• dehydrated onion
• dehydrated green onions
• onion flakes
• Onion Rings
Contd…
• Diced Onion
• Flavours
• Onion Oil
• Onion concentrate
Other Processes…
Thank You