SHIVAMOGGA: Now, it’s the turn of onions to get pricey in the coming days as the yield of the crop is low due to deficit rainfall in the onion cultivation areas in the state as well as in the country.
As most of the taluks in the state are reeling under severe drought, the onion cultivation areas like parts of Chitradurga, Chikkaballapura, Gadag, Vijayapura and other parts in Karnataka have taken a huge hit. The total yield of the new onion crop in the state was just 40 per cent and already 25 per cent of it being sold in the market. Apart from the onion crop grown in the state, the entire onion market depends upon Nasik and other onion growing areas of Maharashtra, he said.
For the past 15 days, the price of onion per kg in Shivamogga wholesale market was about Rs 25 to Rs 30 while it was Rs 30 to Rs 35 per kg in the retail market. Currently, the price has gone up to Rs 32 to Rs 35 per kg in the wholesale market in Shivamogga.
Meanwhile, onion merchant Ramu said the Central government has levied 40 per cent tax on the export of onion. This measure has checked the export of the onion by the major sellers of Maharashtra.
The Central government with the support of National Cooperative Consumers Federation of India Limited (NCCF) is regulating the price of onion by purchasing the crop from Maharashtra for the past few months. The price of onion may witness steady hike from November and depending upon the supply from Maharashtra, the price may vary.