Before Diwali price of this vegetable doubled in 3 days in Delhi

New Delhi: The national capital witnessed a sharp rise in onion prices on Saturday, almost doubling from the previous price, affecting household budgets. Onion traders are blaming shortage in supply for the sudden rise in onion prices. According to onion traders, before Navratri the price of onion was Rs 25-30 per kg, which has risen to Rs 55-60 per kg in three days and is being sold in the markets at Rs 65-70 per kg.

The onion prices are rising in other districts as well.

An onion trader at Ghazipur vegetable market in Delhi said, "The inflow of onion is low, resulting in high prices. Today the rates are Rs 350 per 5 kg. Yesterday, they were Rs 300. Before that they were Rs 200. A week ago, the rates were between Rs 160 and Rs 200 per 5 kg. Rates have increased due to shortage in supply.''

A customer in the market expressed dissatisfaction over the rising prices and said that earlier 1 kg onion was available for Rs 20, now its price is Rs 50-60 per kg and said that if this continues, it will affect the daily household expenses.

Prices will soon reach Rs 100 per kg if supply shortage continues

A vegetable seller in Ghazipur mandi said that if the supply shortage is not addressed, prices will soon reach Rs 100 per kg.

He said before Navratri, onion rates were Rs 50, now it is Rs 70 per kg. Our purchase is at Rs 70 per kg and we will sell it at Rs 80 per kg. Earlier, it was Rs 30-40 per kg. If this continues, the rates will reach Rs 100 per kg, he said

Another vegetable vendor said, "Onion rates have increased the most. Tomato rates have also increased. Earlier tomato was Rs 20 per kg, now it is Rs 40-45 per kg. Tomato will also reach Rs 70 per kilogram." He said that onion rates have increased since Navratri.

Delay in arrival of new crop after Navratri

According to vegetable sellers of Ghazipur, onion rates often increase after Navratri because only 15 to 20 percent of old onion is left and there is a delay in the arrival of the new crop. Today onion is being sold at Rs 50 to 55 per kg in Nashik. So it is obvious that the freight from there will be Rs 5 per kg. In Delhi onion is being sold at wholesale price at Rs 50 to 60 per kg. This onion will be sold at retail for Rs 70 per kg, they said.

Mamta Khare, a housewife, said, “Earlier we used to buy full sacks of onion for use in our homes, today onion has become so expensive that I am buying 2 kg onion. Onion is available at Rs 70 per kg in retail shops.”

Consumer Affairs Ministry sources said it has purchased more than 5.07 lakh metric tonnes of onion and is ready to buy 3 lakh metric tonnes more in the coming days, which will help in keeping the price under control.

According to a Consumer Affairs Ministry official, due to delay in arrival of the crop from major producing states like Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, retail prices in Delhi NCR currently rose to Rs 60 per kg from Rs 40 per kg a fortnight ago. 

Govt has disposed of over 1.74 lakh metric tonnes of onion in wholesale markets 

The government has disposed of more than 1.74 lakh metric tonnes of onion in the wholesale markets of Delhi, Haryana, Karnataka, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh, West Bengal, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Assam and Uttarakhand, the official said. 

He said onion prices will start falling in the coming days. According to the official, the retail price matrix has been disturbed due to decrease in the arrival of onion in the mandis. Still, onion prices are much lower than in 2021, when onion prices had crossed the Rs 100 mark, the official said.