CHENNAI: Onion prices have once again jumped to Rs 100 -120 per kg in retail after a brief dip. Traders said this is due to reduced arrival from Andhra. For the last four days, 50 kg of onion cost traders an extra Rs 1,000 because of shortage and constant high demand. Traders at Koyambedu wholesale market said instead of 55 trucks carrying onions from Andhra, only 35 arrived on Monday.
“Supply of onion still has not stabilised. We get insufficient loads from Solapur, but the demand is still high. Because, onions from Andhra are third grade ones which cost cheaper. A dearth of this affects overall cost,” said Abdul Khader, secretary, Koyambedu Vegetable Wholesale Merchants Association.
Other than onions, drumsticks continue to be sold at `240/kg in retail. But, traders said prices of other vegetables have come down compared to last month. For the last month-and-a-half, onion prices shot up drastically due to shortage of supply from main producer State Maharashtra. Due to this, many small and medium-scale restaurants switched to using cabbage in its place or hiked prices of food items.