Afghan imports bring down onion prices

Radhika Pasrija

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Chandigarh, November 3

With the arrival of onions from Afghanistan, the prices of the kitchen staple fell to around Rs 60 per kg in the city. Until the beginning of this week, the retail price of onions, which were coming from Nashik in Maharashtra and Indore in Madhya Pradesh, ranged between Rs 70 and Rs 90 per kg, destabilising the household budget.

“I got two-and-a-half kg of onions for Rs 150 today. A few days ago, I had paid more than Rs 80 for a kg of onions,” said one of the customers at the Sector 26 vegetable market.

Rosy pink Afghani onions are of good quality and of a decent size. A trader at the Sector 26 mandi said the wholesale price of these onions varied between Rs 35 and Rs 40. The minimum retail price of this variety of onion is Rs 50 per kg. These onions were ordered when the supply from Indian farms was not enough to meet the demand, he added.

Another customer said despite Afghan imports entering the market, onions were being sold at anywhere between Rs 65 and Rs 70 a kg.

Vijay Kumar, a wholesale trader at the mandi, said, “The government has placed bulk orders for onions. Therefore, the prices have fallen. Also, “naya pyaaz” is about to come so the

prices will eventually fall. Afghan imports come to customers’ rescue during the period between the increased prices of onions and the arrival of new produce.”