Sizzling onion prices bring Capital to tears

When questioned on the issue, Rajendra Sharma, president of the Azadpur Mandi’s Onion Merchant Traders Association, said that supplies have been affected owing to rains in the country’s southern regions. As a result wholesale prices of onions have shot up by 30 per cent in the past two days, to touch Rs 4,800 per quintal.  

‘Presently, Delhi is getting 1,000-1,200 quintals of onion per day, as against 8,000 quintals in August. This has triggered a rise in the price of onion,’ he added. A section of traders claimed that the Ganesh puja celebrations in Maharashtra have also impacted the price. Sources in Lasalgaon Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC), the country’s largest wholesale market in Nashik, have said that approximately 6,500 quintals of onion were sold over the weekend to cater to the festive season demand.

The fluctuating prices are causing worry in both official and trading circles, with at least a month to go before fresh kharif crops reach the markets. With pockets pinching, however, the common man is in no mood to compare statistics. Sukhdev Vihar resident, Mukesh Sharma, alleged that the Delhi government has been unable to control the spiraling price of vegetables in general and onions in particular, because it is hand in glove with hoarders. 

The anger among the common people fuelled by the unnatural rise in the price of onions, just ahead of the November Assembly polls, has put the Congress-led city government in the dock. In 1998, Delhi BJP had lost the Assembly election on the issue of soaring onion prices. At that time, the price of onion had touched Rs 100 per kg.

On Tuesday, the Delhi government called an emergency meeting of onion merchant traders associations at the Delhi Secretariat. Speaking to the media after the meeting, Delhi development minister Raj Kumar Chauhan said, ‘We have about 1,400 tonnes in our stock and are selling onions at cheaper rates as compared to others states.’ The minister added that owing to scarce supplies, wholesale prices have shot up from Rs 3,4000 a quintal to Rs 4,300 to Rs 4,500 a quintal in just a couple of days.

The Delhi government again started selling onions at Rs 60 per kg in front of the  Delhi Secretariat on Tuesday.