With the election year approaching near, the price of onion has started rising again. Wholesalers in Dehradun point out that the price has risen due to short supply from Nasik in Maharashtra.
According to vendor Kapil at the wholesale vegetable market at Niranjanpur, factors like drop in yield has caused a shortage of supply from Nasik which in turn is causing a rise in the price of onion.
Though about three truckloads of onions are reaching the market daily and the situation is seen as stable, Traders are speculating that the supply might drop in the near future due to heavy rains in the producer States, disrupting the production even more, leading to further price rise in onions.
Currently the wholesale rate of onions is between Rs 24- 28 per kg compared to the rate of Rs 15-20 per kg which prevailed last week.
The retail price of onions is presently more than Rs 40 depending on the locality and quality of the produce. The hike in price of onions is causing inconvenience to caterers and members of the public who are trying to accommodate this in their planned budget.
Vegetable dealer Mohan said that nowadays the sale of the onions had gone down which is mainly due to two reasons — rise in the prices and start of the Shravan month considered holy by devotees of lord Shiva. Vijaya a resident of Clement Town said, “Onion is used in almost every dish we cook and the price rise will definitely increase our monthly expenditure”.