HYDERABAD: The general public, affected by the increasing onion prices, may have to wait at least 10 days for the prices to stabilise, according to marketing officials. The arrival of onion stocks from Maharashtra has been decreasing in recent days, leading to a surge in prices.
At the Agriculture Market Committee (AMC) in Old Malakpet Gunj, Hyderabad, the prices of onion ranged between Rs 60 to Rs 70 per kg, depending on grade and quality. In the neighbourhood markets and retail stores, the price has already touched Rs 90 per kg, and consumers fear that the cost will soon touch Rs 100 per kg.
According to Damodar, secretary of AMC Hyderabad, the macro-economic reason for the shortage is that due to heavy rains that occurred a couple of years ago, onion farmers in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh had suffered heavy losses; hence, most of them have gone for alternative crops, which has resulted in onion cultivation going down.
He told TNIE that Telangana has been mostly dependent on onions being imported from Maharashtra, the arrivals of which have been coming down lately.“Arrivals at our market on Saturday were just five trucks, which had created a shortage, sparking the hike in prices. But on Monday, 16–17 trucks arrived, 20 trucks arrived on Tuesday and 15 arrived on Wednesday. In the next 10 days we will see the prices come down and then stabilise,” he observed.“The prices per quintal onion at the market went from Rs 7,000 on Saturday, to Rs 6,500 on Tuesday, Rs 5,000 on Wednesday,” he added.
According to K Venugopal, deputy director of the horticulture department, “The requirement of onions for local consumption is five lakh tonnes, while the overall production last year was 1.78 lakh tonnes. There is a gap of 3.2 lakh tonnes, which is being met by importing onions from Maharashtra.”It can be mentioned that in late August this year, the Centre imposed a 40 per cent export duty on onions till December 31, with a view to controlling onion prices locally.