The price of onions, which had soared high a little over a year ago going virtually out of the common man’s reach, has now reached a new low bringing tears to the farmers’ eyes.
Onions were available at a retail price of Rs. 15 to Rs. 20 a kg in the last two to three months after having skyrocketed to Rs. 70 to Rs. 80 a kg over a year ago.
But, a spurt in the yield in different onion growing regions has brought the price down to Rs. 10 a kg in the retail market. Sources in the Horticultural Producers Co-operative Marketing and Processing Society (HOPCOMS) and the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) in Mysuru said the onion prices are set to crash further in the coming days.
According to HOPCOMS Managing Director B.C. Anand, the onions purchased by them at a wholesale rate of Rs. 12 per kg last week and sold at Rs. 15 a kg are almost exhausted. Now, the fresh arrivals at APMC Yard in Mysuru are available for a price between Rs. 200 and Rs. 900 per quintal. “The prices will come down further in the coming days,” he said.
Ravi, who has a vegetable shop in the city’s Devaraja Market, said the present price of a kg of onion is Rs. 10.
According to sources in APMC, onion prices, which had remained more or less steady during the last one year, had witnessed a dip in October. “While the price ranged from Rs. 500 (poor quality) to Rs. 1,300 (good quality) during August, it ranged from Rs. 200 to Rs. 1,400 during September. During October, the price has ranged between Rs. 200 to Rs. 900,” an official said. The decline in onion prices has also coincided with an increase in arrivals. The arrival of onions at the APMC Yard in Mysuru went up from 15,590 quintal during September to 15,218 during the first 20 days of October. APMC sources said the increase in prices could be linked to higher yield in onion growing areas in Maharashtra and Karnataka, particularly in Chikkamagaluru district.
“The yield of onion has been high on account of average rainfall. Had the rains been good, the yield would have been poor,” an APMC official said.
Retail price of onion (per kg)
August and September: Rs. 15 to Rs. 20
October: Rs. 10
Wholesale price of onion (per quintal)
August: Rs. 500 to
Rs. 1,300
September: Rs. 200 to Rs. 1,400
October: Rs. 200 to
Rs. 900
