MADURAI: A steep decline in shallot arrivals coupled with sustained demand has pushed retail prices to Rs 90-100 per kilogram in Madurai, with traders and farmers attributing the rise to irrigation constraints and adverse weather conditions affecting cultivation in the district and neighbouring areas.
Shallots arriving in Madurai are mainly sourced from Dindigul, Theni and Madurai districts. Traders state that the reduced supply had pushed wholesale prices beyond Rs 80 per kg, and they were likely to remain at that level until the next harvest.
Mohammad Ismail, an office-bearer of the Madurai onion wholesalers’ association, said, “Paravai market usually receives around 3,000 bags of shallots a day, with each bag weighing 50 kg, while the Keela Marat Street onion wholesale market receives around 1,500 bags. However, arrivals have now declined to around 1,500 bags at Paravai and 1,000 bags at the onion market,” he said.
In the retail market the price has nearly doubled in less than a month. N Chinnamayan, the president of the Mattuthavani Central Vegetable Market Traders’ Association, said shallots were sold for Rs 90-100 per kg on Friday. “During the last week of July, shallots were sold for Rs 40-60 per kg. The price has gradually increased and touched Rs 100 per kg now,” he said.
Traders said several other vegetables were also being sold above Rs 40 per kg. Tomato prices, however, remained below Rs 30 per kg despite pest and disease attacks reported in cultivation areas in Madurai and neighbouring districts, as arrivals and yields remained comparatively high. Farmers said declining groundwater availability had forced them to reduce the area under vegetable cultivation, further affecting market arrivals.
