Onion prices back at Rs 80 a kg in Delhi

Onion prices continue to remain volatile with the rates shooting up again to Rs 80 a kg level in retail markets of the national capital.

Prices of the commodity have risen again by about 30 per cent from Rs 60/kg level in the last week.

Traders attributed the increase in onion prices to limited supplies from producing states especially Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

"Prices are high because supplies have slowed down due to unseasonal rains at the time of harvesting. Rains have damaged the crop in key growing states," said Rajendra Sharma, Chairman of Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC), Azadpur mandi.

Onion prices in the retail markets would be high as the wholesale rates are ruling at Rs 25-60/kg at Azadpur, he said.

Onion prices in the national capital have been seesawing between Rs 60/kg and Rs 80/kg in the last two months despite government measures like curbing exports and allowing imports.

Stating that the high price situation in onions will continue for some more days, Sharma observed: "Prices are likely to cool down by the weekend with more quantity of onions expected to arrive from Rajasthan."

Delhi's onion consumption is about 800 tonne per day.

Consumers in other parts of the country too are affected by rise in prices of the essential commodity. In major cities, onions are sold at over Rs 60 per kg in retail markets.

Nashik-based onion expert Satish Bhonde said the kharif crop that was ready for harvesting in Maharashtra, the largest onion growing state, has got damaged and hence supplies could not be transported to consuming states.

Currently, onion supplies are less than 50 per cent of the country's monthly estimated total demand of 9-10 lakh tonne. Adding to price volatility is that the storage onions have also got exhausted now.

Due to exports curbs, onion shipments fell by 28.48 per cent to to 7,16,246 tonne in the first six months of the current financial year. India produced 16.3 million tonnes of onion in 2012-13 crop year (July-June).