Azeem Ahmed Khan

Pakistan’s onion production surged by 19.2 percent during the 2024-25 crop year, reaching 2.747 million tons compared with 2.3046 million tons in 2023-24. The cultivated area also expanded notably by 16.8 percent to 166,400 hectares from 142,500 hectares, reflecting increased plantation and favourable growing conditions, a document of the Ministry of National Food Security and Research shows.

Onion, Pakistan’s second major vegetable crop after potato, is consumed between 1.6 and 1.8 million tons annually. It remains an essential kitchen staple across the country, commonly used in soups, sauces, seasonings and household cooking throughout the year. For the 2025-26 crop year, Pakistan has raised its onion production target to 2.78 million tons, with cultivation planned over 168,000 hectares nationwide.

Sindh is expected to lead with 956,550 tons from 60,000 hectares, followed by Balochistan with 884,500 tons from 47,000 hectares. Punjab has been assigned a target of 720,000 tons from 49,000 hectares, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa aims to produce 254,400 tons from 12,000 hectares. Punjab emerged as the primary driver of growth in 2024-25, with output more than doubling—rising 92.4 percent to 914,000 tons from 475,000 tons the previous year.

The province also sharply increased its cultivated area from 29,000 hectares to 52,000 hectares, an expansion of 79.3 percent. This contributed to a 7.3 percent improvement in yield, which rose from 16,379 kg per hectare to 17,577 kg per hectare. Sindh, traditionally a major onion-producing region, witnessed modest growth. Its production edged up 1.5 percent to 783,200 tons, while cultivated area increased slightly by 1.4 percent to 57,900 hectares.

Yield remained largely unchanged, dipping marginally by 0.1 percent to 13,527 kg per hectare. Balochistan recorded a 3.9 percent production increase to 885,400 tons, supported by a 3.7 percent expansion in cultivated area to 47,100 hectares. The province’s yield improved marginally by 0.1 percent to 18,798 kg per hectare. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, however, reported a contraction, with cultivated area dropping 14.5 percent to 9,400 hectares and production falling 19.9 percent to 164,500 tons.

Yield declined 6.2 percent to 17,500 kg per hectare. At the national level, the average yield stood at 16,509 kg per hectare, up slightly by 2.1 percent from 16,172 kg in 2023-24. The Federal Committee on Agriculture confirmed that the national production target for 2024-25 was successfully surpassed. Against a target of 2.554 million tons from 157,000 hectares, actual production reached 2.747 million tons—7.5 percent above the target—while cultivated area expanded to 166,400 hectares, exceeding expectations by 6 percent.

Punjab and Balochistan were the only provinces to surpass their production targets. Punjab exceeded its 660,000-ton target by 38.5 percent, while Balochistan outperformed its 741,000-ton target by 19.5 percent. Sindh fell 14 percent short of its 911,000-ton target, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa underachieved by 32.1 percent, producing 164,500 tons against a target of 242,300 tons.

Credit: INP-WealthPk