Although government sources claimed that onions were being offered at the lowered rate of Rs 50 per kg, at several government outlets in the national capital, the kitchen staple was being sold at Rs 60-70 per kg, despite instructions to the contrary. ‘With the additional arrival of onions from Afghanistan, prices on Friday fell by Rs 10 per kg to Rs 50 per kg in the whole sale market,’ Onion Merchant Traders Association president Surendra Budhiraj had said earlier on Friday.
Confusion raged over the exact price of the staple vegetable, with traders attributing ‘fall in wholesale onion prices’ to decline in prices in Lasalgaon Mandi in Nashik, which sets the price trend across the country. According to National Horticultural Research and Development Foundation (NHRDF) data, prices of the commodity at Lasalgaon in Nashik, decreased by Rs 10 per kg to Rs 47 per kg on Friday. Around 25 trucks carrying 1,500- 2,000 quintals of onions have arrived at the Azadpur Mandi from Afghanistan, traders said.
But the Mother Dairy outlets in the city, which were selling onions at around Rs 60 per kg on Friday, were reportedly contemplating to reduce the prices from Saturday, in the wake of the fall in the prices at wholesale markets, an official said.
When asked about high onion price, information and broadcasting minister Manish Tewari said: ‘There is a seasonal movement in onion prices. However, expectations are that prices will settle down in a week or so on improved supplies.’