Sharp fall in supplies jacks up onion prices
| Date :29-Nov-2019 |
Business Bureau :
SHARP fall in supplies has resulted in prices of onions sky rocketing in the market. Although the new produce of onions has hit the market the prices have not receded from their highs. In retail, onions are still flying high at Rs 90 per kilo to Rs 100 per kilo disrupting household budgets. “The prices of onions have shot up due to lower supplies in the market. Excess rains has spoilt the new produce to a large extent,” said Jaiprakash Vasani, former President of Kanda Batata Adatiya Association of Nagpur while talking to The Hitavada. The onion prices being quoted in the Kalamna wholesale market are as follows: Best quality at Rs 60 per kilo to Rs 65 per kilo, medium quality at Rs 30 per kilo to Rs 50 per kilo.
The stored onions are being quoted at high of Rs 70 per kilo to Rs 80 per kilo, he pointed out. About 10 to 15 trucks of onions daily are being unloaded in the Kalamna wholesale market. The city consumes about eight to 10 trucks daily and the rest are sold in nearby towns. Earlier, when the onion prices were low about 25 to 30 trucks would unload their produce in the market. It is estimated that about 20,000 tonne of onions are consumed daily in the country, he said. Incessant rains have damaged the onion crop significantly by about 20 per cent this year.
Also, the moisture content is very high in onions which has affected the quality. The situation is same in all the major onion producing regions of the country. The onions which were stored during the months of May and June have almost been exhausted. There remains only 10 per cent of the stored onions.
Lower supplies of onions has resulted in high prices in the market, he said. In the Kalamna wholesale market the new produce of onions are being unloaded from states like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka to a large extent. Similarly, onions are also being brought from Dhulia, Amaravati and Jalgoan districts in Maharashtra. These supplies are still scanty. The new produce of onions have just started to arrive in the Nashik market which is one of the main centres for onions. “Even with the arrival of new produce there is slim chance that the prices of onions will fall. It will take another month for the onion supplies to increase and bring down the prices,” he added.