New Delhi: Onion prices continue to remain volatile with the rates shooting up again to the Rs 80/kg level in the retail markets of the national Capital.
Onion prices have risen again to Rs 75-80 per kg, up by about 30 per cent from the Rs 60/kg level in the last week.
Traders attributed the increase in onion prices to limited supplies from the producing States especially Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
Onion prices in the national Capital have been seesawing between Rs 60/kg and Rs 80/kg in the last two months despite Government measures to curb exports and allow imports.
“Prices are high because supplies have slowed down due to unseasonal rains at the time of harvesting. Rains have damaged the crop in key growing States,” said Rajendra Sharma, Chairman of the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC), Azadpur Mandi.
Onion prices in the retail markets would be high as the wholesale rates are ruling at Rs 25-60/kg at Azadpur, he said.
Stating that the high price situation in onions would continue for some more days, Sharma observed: “Prices are likely to cool down by the weekend with more quantity of onions expected to arrive from Rajasthan.”
Delhi's onion consumption is about 800 tonnes per day.
Not only Delhi, consumers in other parts of the country have also been affected by the onion price rise. In major cities, onions are sold at over Rs 60 per kg in retail markets.
Nashik-based onion expert Satish Bhonde said the kharif crop that was ready for harvesting in Maharashtra, the largest onion growing State, has got damaged and hence supplies could not be transported from here to the consuming States.
Currently, onion supplies are less than 50 per cent of the country's monthly estimated total demand of 9-10 lakh tonnes. Adding to the price volatility is the fact that storage onions have also been exhausted.
Due to exports curbs, onion shipments fell by 28.48 per cent to 7,16,246 tonne in the first six months of the current fiscal. India produced 16.3 million tonnes of onion in the 2012-13 crop year (July—June).
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