Onion price in Delhi has once again come close to the Rs 100/kg mark; a phenomenon which had a severe impact on the then NDA Government nearly a decade ago. Ironically its price has gone up to Rs 80 a kg in retail market even as the wholesale prices vary between Rs 50 and Rs 55 a kg.
People rued that onion was being sold at Rs 85 a kg in several South Delhi areas. What is more worrisome is that the onion price is likely to remain high till October when the new crop arrives.
Traders claim that the decrease in supply is the primary reason for the steep hike in onion prices. They said excessive rain in the entire north India has affected the supply from States like Maharashtra. A lower yield in States like Tamil Nadu has put pressure on Maharashtra that aggravated the situation in north Indian States, including Delhi. A major portion of onion produce from Maharashtra is being supplied to south Indian States leading to shortage in Delhi.
“The floods in Uttarakhand and Haryana were not the only reason for shortage of supply of this essential commodity in Delhi. Due to heavy rain this year, supply of onion in Delhi has been interrupted from Maharashtra which is the biggest onion producing State,” said Rajender Sharma, chairman of Azadpur Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee, Asia’s largest wholesale market for fruits and vegetables.
To make things worse, in just four days onion supplies in the Capital have drastically fallen from 11,553 quintals on August 8 to a mere 4,377 quintals on August 12. Records maintained by the Delhi Agricultural marketing Board suggest that supply was nearly at a constant high for a period of about two weeks.
Notably, the Government of India has also refused to ban the export of onion supplied to Russia, Penang and countries in West Asia. On the other hand, Pakistan has put a complete ban of export of onion to India which has also contributed in the spiraling prices of the commodity.