Farmers Movement Archive

Delhi: Onion prices rise to Rs 60/kg, traders say relief likely soon

NEW DELHI: The price of onions has spiked in Delhi owing to supply being less than usual from various states, including Maharashtra. Many onion producing states have reported damage to crops due to unseasonal rain towards the end of 2020. Currently, the staple is retailing between Rs 40 and Rs 60 per kg across the capital, while the wholesale rate is between Rs 10 and Rs 40. The prices of other vegetables are normal, most of which are supplied from Haryana. Traders say there has been a 50% decline in the stock of onions arriving at Azadpur Mandi, from where the vegetable is supplied to retail markets across Delhi-NCR. Normally, 50-60 trucks of onions used to come every day, but the number has dropped to 30-35 now. However, the traders said the stir by farmers at Singhu, Ghazipur and Tikri borders had not affected supply because trucks were using the peripheral expressway and entering the city through Gurugram. Some drivers were also using village roads to arrive at Azadpur Mandi. Srikant Mishra, secretary of Onion Traders’ Association, Azadpur Mandi, said, “The rain in December last year damaged onion seedlings in the nurseries. The farmers had to prepare the seedlings again, which caused a delay in production.” “By the end of February, supply of onions from Sikar district in Rajasthan and Ujjain, Bhopal, Narsinghgarh and Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh will start, which will lead to reduction in prices,” added Mishra. Ram Avtar Singh, a retailer at Laxmi Nagar, said the price of onions was between Rs 25 and Rs 35 throughout January, but started to increase at the beginning of February. “We are buying onions at Rs 30-40 from the wholesale market and selling at Rs 40-50,” he added. “Onion prices will remain high only for around 15 days and will start coming down by the last week of February. The supply from Maharashtra has been hit because the seedlings got damaged. Within the next 15 days, the wholesale and retail prices of onions will reduce,” said Rajinder Sharma, an onion and potato trader. Another trader said the price would have risen further had the supply from Gujarat also been hit. “The supply of onions from Gujarat is by and large normal, so that has helped cover up some shortage from Maharashtra,” he added.

The Times of India

2021-02-11

Delhi