BHUBANESWAR: Onion prices have started rising across the state with retail rates climbing to Rs 65-Rs 70 a kg amid tightening supplies from Karnataka and higher wholesale prices in Maharashtra’s major mandis, particularly Nashik.
Traders in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack attributed the increase to high prices in source markets. Maharashtra, especially Nashik, is currently the principal source of onion for Odisha as arrivals from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have remained limited.
Odisha’s daily onion requirement is estimated at around 2,500-3,000 tonne. “Supply from Nashik is normal but wholesale prices there have risen to nearly double the normal level of around `2,000 per quintal,” said general secretary of Kuberpuri Byabasayee Sangha, Shakti Shankar Mishra.
He said wholesale onion in Bhubaneswar is currently selling at Rs 38-Rs 40 a kg, adding that the retail price should ideally be around Rs 50 a kg. “If retail traders are selling at a higher price, the government should be blamed,” Mishra said adding, market inspectors of the Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare department have been asked to take action against traders charging excessive prices.
The department’s market intelligence wing monitors prices of essential commodities on a daily basis. Traders, however, said the immediate pressure on prices was largely due to supply constraints. “There has been no supply from Karnataka for the last two-three days. Odisha is now almost entirely dependant on Nashik markets, one of the country’s major onion-producing regions,” Mishra said.
Officials said the rabi onion crop suffered some damage during harvesting because of untimely rain, affecting availability and contributing to price pressure. The situation is expected to improve with the arrival of the new kharif crop from the middle of October. The new arrivals will ease pressure on both supply and prices, they said.
Meanwhile, the Centre has stepped up market intervention to contain prices. The National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation (NCCF) and National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) are selling onions at Rs 35 a kg in major cities of the state.
“The agencies are coordinating with states to sell the subsidised onions through retail stores, mobile vans and cooperative societies. The state government should take up the issue with the Centre to release more onion from its buffer stock to Odisha,” Mishra said.