Hyderabad: Onion is still trading at Rs 55, which is way above its normal average price, though normal prices were promised by January. Onion had touched a high of Rs 200 in December.
Small traders feel that the market is being dictated by big merchants and middlemen who are controlling the availability of onions. The onions from Egypt, which the Centre had promised to import, has apparently not reached the markets.
D. Shivaji Rao of Balaji Onion and Garlic Traders at Begum Bazaar, said, “There has been a 50 per cent fall in our business since November and we are facing the heat. Ours is a small retail outlet, but we can sense that big merchants and middlemen are blocking good onions and pushing poor quality bulbs into the market. They are also dictating the price.” He said all this would only benefit the traders and not the farmers.
Vakhar Unnissa of Yakutpura, says, “There is no Hyderabad cuisine without onion. Dopyaza, kharle ka gosh, tahari, paya, name it and it has onion. We find it difficult, but still we managed on in November and December. At least now, we don’t get so many tears.”
While Yesu Catering’s Shadrach Yesu Das said, “Our requirement depends mostly on the season, winter is the peak season for marriages and functions. The onion prices will definitely make a hole our pockets. Even at homes they do not compromise on the taste. We are professionals, how can we bargain with taste?”
Meanwhile, Dhanraj Laxminarayan Traders’ Manoj Agarwal, which is situated in Osmangunj, said, “Our shop is 100 years old, my grandfather started with an investment of Rs 21. We have seen onion prices rising in December every year, but this season it started in November.”
Another trader from Osmangunj, Mallesh, said, “The retail price for good quality onions is between Rs 52 and Rs 55. We sell 3,000 kgs per day on average but last year we sold only 50. But very soon the onion price will return to normal.”
