BHUBANESWAR: Onion price witnessed a sharp surge in the State following short supply from the source States due to floods.
The tuber that was priced at Rs 25-a kilo a week ago in the retail market here is now being sold at Rs 35 a kg and is unlikely to come down anytime soon. A month ago, the tuber was being sold at Rs 15 to Rs 20-a-kg.
Traders attributed the rise in price to floods in Maharashtra and Karnataka besides ongoing strike by truckers in West Bengal.
Odisha is largely dependent on Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh for onions. The supply came down drastically as the crop was ruined in floods in two major onion producing States.
A trader at the Unit-I market said the State is not getting the commodity from Nashik, Bengaluru and Tadepalligudem (Andhra Pradesh) as per demand.
“We are now completely dependent on Nashik where the onion was priced Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,200 per quintal. What can we do if the product is highly-priced at the source? The price may come down after the arrival of new crop from Andhra Pradesh,” he said.
Similarly, potato price also witnessed a rise of 20 per cent due to the truckers strike in WB. The commodity, which was being sold Rs 12-a-kilo, is now priced Rs 15 in the retail market.
Since there is a huge gap between demand and supply, the retail price is bound to increase. The State Government has warned traders against hoarding. The officials have been asked to keep a close watch on hoarders and black marketers.
Meanwhile, workers of Samajwadi Party led by its State president Rabindra Nath Behera staged a demonstration on Thursday demanding check on onion and potato price.