BHUBANESWAR: With the sudden rise in the price of onion sparking off resentment among consumers, the State Government on Friday assured that the price will come down within two weeks.
Minister for Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Surya Narayan Patro presided over a high-level meeting at the Secretariat to take stock of the situation. Patro told mediapersons that the price of onion in the mandis of Nashik in Maharashtra has gone up to `12 to `13 per kg due to torrential rain in the last two weeks. However, in Odisha price of onion is around `17 to `19 after adding the transport charges, he said and added that the price will come down as Andhra Pradesh will start supply of onion within two weeks.
The district Collectors have been asked to monitor sale of onion in the local market to keep the price under check. “To regulate the market price of onion, it has been decided that the wholesalers of Cuttack will have a maximum stock of 500 quintals and wholesalers of Bhubaneswar, Puri, Sambalpur, Rourkela and Berhampur can stock 350 quintals while in other remaining areas the stock limit will be 150 quintals,” he said.
The Minister, however, maintained that compared to other States, the price of onion in Odisha is cheaper. While the price of onion on Friday was `30 and `25 per kg at New Delhi and Kolkata respectively, at Mumbai the rate was `24 per kg. But, in Odisha the price is a bit higher than the national average, he said.
The Minister convened another meeting on July 9 to sort out problem and ensure supply of onion at reasonable prices. The meeting will be attended by senior officials from the food supply and consumer welfare, agriculture and farmers’ welfare, members of the Chamber of Commerce and representatives of the trading community.