Mumbai: Onion prices are about to hit a double century soon. Supply of onions has reduced by almost 80 per cent, resulting in their prices skyrocketing across the country.
Asia’s largest onion market — Lasalgaon — received a mere 5,200 quintals of onion on Thursday against its daily average supply of 12,000 to 15,000 quintals. One quintal is equal to 100 kg.
The price at the Lasalgaon market was `10,000 per quintal, while at the Vashi market near Mumbai, onions were sold at between `80 and `130 per kg. In the retail market, onion was being sold at `140 to `160 per kg.
“The untimely rainfall and hailstorm is a major reason behind rising onion prices. The rainfall has not only damaged the old buffer onion stock but also the new arrivals,” said Nanasaheb Patil, former chairman of Lasalgaon Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC).
Lasalgaon is 200 km from Mumbai and is known for supplying onions across the country.
“The prices of onion will cool down by mid-January 2020 while it will stabilise in February-end or the first week of March 2020. The Centre may import onions but the demand is so high that it will not be easy to bring down onion prices soon,” Mr Patil added.
Mr Ashok Walunje, onion wholesale trader at Vashi APMC, said onions from Turkmenistan and Egypt are in the market but there are hardly any takers for these imported varieties.
“The taste of the imported onions do not match our onions, particularly the Nashik onion. Our onions can be used in gravies, masalas and salads,” Mr Walunje said.
Mr Patil blamed untimely rains and bad weather for the disruption in the onion supply cycle. “From October to December, Lasalgaon onions are high on supply. Then in January, it is taken over by those grown in Solapur and Pune,” he said.
Mr Narendra Warankar, a wholesale onion trader, said so far onions were being procured from Rajasthan and Gujarat, but supply from both the states has gone down. “There is no rabi supply while that of the kharif season has also not been satisfactory. The mismatch in demand and supply has resulted in the rise of onion prices,” Mr Warankar said.
