Following the arrival of fresh stocks, the price of small onion has reduced from ₹ 60 to ₹ 20 a kg in the markets here.
Onion arrives from the State of Maharashtra and the Oddanchatram vegetable market in Dindigul to the Nethaji Daily Vegetable and Fruit market in the city. Also, onion is cultivated as an intercrop with turmeric within the district and in the nearby districts.
Usually, farmers stock onion after harvesting and sell it in markets for a better price. Last month, on an average, onion was sold between ₹ 50 to ₹ 60 a kg. Owing to rain in the last three weeks, onions could not be stored and hence farmers are bringing their produce to the market in large quantities leading to sharp decline in the prices.
At present, the first-quality small onion was sold at ₹ 35 a kg, while the second quality onion was sold at ₹ 25 to ₹ 30 a kg. Onions that got wet in the rain were brought to the market at ₹ 10 a kg.
“Due to rain and moisture content in the air, onion cannot be stored and hence farmers were forced to sell it at a lower price, even for ₹ 8 a kg,” said Murugan, a farmer from Modakkurichi.
The shelf life of such onion is less than two days and hence it is sold for ₹ 10 a kg, he added.
Harvesting of the onions cultivated as intercrop is in full swing in the district, particularly Perundurai block, leading to fresh arrivals every day.
“Onion harvested this month cannot be stocked,” said a trader at the wholesale market.
At the Uzhavar Sandhai in Sampath Nagar, the small onion was sold for ₹ 20 to ₹ 26 a kg, while the price of big onion was ₹ 55 to ₹ 60 a kg.
