BHUBANESWAR: Price of onion is unlikely to drop in near future even as the State Government pinned hopes on fresh arrivals from Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh (AP).Traders claimed that the soaring price was not linked to the availability but the escalating price of the commodity at the source States. Attributing the price rise to 60 per cent loss of crop in AP and damage of onions worth `100 crore in Madhya Pradesh, General Secretary of Byabasayee Mahasangha Sudkakar Panda said, the tuber is still priced `2,200 per quintal at Nashik and it is unlikely to fall till the fresh crop is harvested in November.
“Though we had received onions at `1600 per quintal from AP a few days ago, those were small in size and of sub-standard quality. People did not prefer to buy it even at `22 a kg. Traders also suffered loss as around 30 per cent of the stock got damaged,” he said.
A couple of days ago Food Supply and Consumer Welfare Minister Surya Narayan Patro had expected a fall in price owing to arrival of at least 25 truckloads of onions from both AP and Maharashtra.
“As AP onions have no demand in the State, Nashik is the only choice from where we can procure the commodity. We are procuring two sizes of onion - small and big which are pegged at `1800 and `2200 per quintal respectively. Though the retail price may not touch `50 as expected, it would not certainly come down to `25,” Panda added.