Onion prices crash as fresh crop floods market

Shiv Kumar
Tribune News Service
Mumbai, January 3

Consumers can heave a sigh of relief as onion prices in the wholesale markets have begun to crash.

According to information available from Lasalgaon, the country’s main onion market, wholesale prices fell to Rs 3,900 per quintal following a surge in arrivals of fresh crop.

“Onion prices are coming down as fresh supply is arriving in the markets.” says Shashikant Shinde, a trader in Lasalgaon. According to him, the market received more than 20,000 tonnes on Friday.

Last month, onion prices touched a record high of Rs 8,625 per quintal in the wholesale markets while retail prices were around Rs 130 per kg in Mumbai.

Wholesale prices are expected to fall below Rs 2,000 per quintal in the coming days as the winter crop gets harvested, according to traders. Retail prices of onions are still at around Rs 80 per kilogramme as traders are disposing off their stock, according to sources.

“Retail prices of onions will come down to Rs 40-50 in the next few weeks,” says a trader from the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee market in Navi Mumbai.

The kharif crop arrives in the market by mid-October. However unseasonal rains even after Diwali damaged standing crop, according to traders.

Meanwhile, onions imported by the government from Egypt are coming into the markets bringing down prices further. However, these onions are sweeter and there is not much demand for them, according to retail vegetable vendors.