Vegetables surges by 10% to trade at Rs 55.5 a kg in Lasalgaon mandi. It is being sold for Rs 70-80 in retail across the country
Barely two days after the government showed conviction over price decline due to steady increase in supply, onion prices jumped by 10 per cent to trade at over four-year high of Rs 55.50 a kg in the benchmark Lasalgaon mandi on Monday.
Onion is currently trading between Rs 70 and Rs 80 in retail markets across the country and is approaching the Rs 100-mark fast. The rates have shown a four-fold increase in the last three months in wholesale markets from Rs 13 a kg in early August to Rs 55 now and retail price from Rs 20 to Rs 80.
Traders attribute the sudden spurt in prices to the very little quantity from last year’s production, crop damage due to unseasonal rain across the country and unfavourable government policy.
“Rain during October and November have so far resulted in widespread damage of the standing kharif crop. Thus, arrivals of early variety onion sown in South Indian states, including in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, were damaged. So, supply of new variety of onion, which was supposed to hit mandis in the second fortnight of October, is no longer available. Thus, onion prices are continuously rising,” said Jaydatta Holkar, chairman, APMC Lasalgaon.
Meanwhile, after banning onion exports and levying stock limit for domestic traders last month, the department of consumer affairs had convened a meeting of stakeholders last Friday. It concluded that the price increase was due to rain-driven supply disruption which has started improving in order to correct prices.
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