The drop in arrival of onion led to price soaring to ₹80-a-kg at the Nethaji Daily Vegetable and Fruit Market here on Friday.
At the wholesale market, the price of small onions was ₹80-a-kg, while the price of big onion was ₹60-a-kg.
Traders said that big onion arrives from Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh while the small onion arrives from Bellary in Karnataka and also from nearby districts.
They said that due to heavy rainfall in onion-cultivating States, production had dropped which led to the increase in price of onion. Usually, 80 tonnes of big onion and 50 tonnes of small onion arrive at the market every day. “But now, only one-third of onions are arriving and that led to price rise”, Mani Anand, a wholesale dealer said.
Traders said that the price of onion will go up in the coming weeks as the arrival is expected to drop further. In December last year, the price of big onion touched ₹200-a-kg, while the price of small onion was ₹110-a-kg. “Price may go up, but not to the previous level”, he added.
Consumers said that the price of vegetables, including onions, had gone up in the past one month and fear that the upward price trend will continue as monsoon is expected to set in the last week of October.
During rainy season, the price of onion and vegetables will go up. “The government should take necessary action to check hoarding and also ensure that consumers are not affected due to steep increase in prices”, said P. Sheela, a home-maker from Sampath Nagar. The retail price of onion is around ₹90 and it may cross ₹100 in a few days, she added.
