Onion prices in the national capital continue to remain high at Rs 70-80 per kg, as supplies remain less than required. Prices of the kitchen staple in Azadpur mandi, Asia’s largest wholesale market, were ruling at Rs 60 per kg on Thursday as supplies were below normal.
‘Today, there was a marginal increase in the supplies of onion at 9,500 quintals, but that was insufficient to bring down the prices,’ Onion Merchant Traders Association president Surendra Budhiraj said.
He said the prices are likely to remain at this level for the next 10-15 days as most of the stored quantities from last year’s crop have been exhausted and fresh supplies from South India are yet to reach the consuming states. Traders also attributed the rise in wholesale onion prices to increase in prices of the bulb in Lasalgaon Mandi in Nashik, which sets the price trend across the country.
At Mother Dairy outlets in the city, onions are being sold at Rs 65-67 per kg, while local vendors are selling it at Rs 70-80 per kg, depending upon the quality and location. According to National Horticultural Research and Development Foundation data, prices of the politically sensitive commodity at Lasalgaon in Nashik, slightly declined from Rs 58 per kg to Rs 56 per kg today.
Meanwhile, the Consumer Affairs Ministry in its status report on onions had said that prices are under pressure as 90 per cent of stored onions from last year’s crop are exhausted and only 3-4 lakh tonnes are available for consumption.
Wholesale Price Index (WPI) based inflation had risen for the third straight month to 6.1 per cent in August, driven by a whopping 244.62 per cent jump in onion prices on an annual basis. Onions are now costing nearly 300 per cent more this month than in the same month last year.
It is a staple ingredient in many Indian dishes, and can anger voters and can quickly become a political issue. India is due to hold its general election within eight months.
Food inflation accelerated to a three-year high of 18.18 per cent in August, government data released on 17 September showed, driving overall inflation to a higher-than-expected 6.1 per cent. The recent hikes in fuel prices also spurred the jump in the Wholesale Price Index.
Farmers are expecting food prices to start moderating from October onwards as supplies rise from crops planted after the much better monsoon season. However, heavy rainfall has resulted in flooding in some areas of the country making it difficult to get produce to the market.