With onion prices continuing to soar, the owners of eateries in Dehradun, especially the small roadside outlets, have either decreased the use of onion or substituted it with other vegetables.
Restaurants are facing problems due to rising onion prices, but established outlets are managing the situation better than the roadside and smaller vendors. On condition of anonymity, an employee of a prominent restaurant on Haridwar Road said, “Although there is a steep increase in the prices of onions, the cost of all the food items on our menu has remained unaltered”.
However, the small outlets and roadside vendors are facing the brunt of rising prices. “I have reduced the usage of onions as the prices are too high. If I continue to use the same amount I would start suffering loss. Earlier I used to provide onion rings with most of my dishes but now, I have substituted it with radish,” said a roadside vendor.
Even though these vendors have reduced the quantity of onions that they use, the spiraling prices of onions have affected their daily earnings. “I have slightly increased the rate of dishes in which onion is the main vegetable. Other dishes also have low usage of onions. The price of Pyaz ka pakora is increased by Rs five per serving,” said a hawker at Rajpur Road.
The low income groups are facing the real brunt of the recent hike in vegetable prices with the price of onions soaring to as high as Rs 75-80 per kg. It may be noted that onion which was earlier available at Rs 35-40 per kg in retail market is now being sold at Rs 75-80 per kg.