Onion Prices: Will onion make you cry now? Prices increased by 50% in just 15 days, and no relief is expected till December, this is the reason

In the last 15 days, onion prices have increased by more than 50% in Maharashtra's Lasalgaon APMC, which is considered the benchmark for onion prices. Talking about the last one week, onion prices have increased by 18%. Such claims have been made in media reports. According to reports, the average price of onion in Lasalgaon Mandi on Tuesday was Rs 38 per kg. Which is 58 percent less than the price of Rs 24 per kg a fortnight ago. Talking about the average price of onion in Maharashtra, it has reached Rs 45 to 48 per kg in the last 10 days. Nandkumar Shirke, chairman of the Association of Onion Traders of Ahmednagar district, told the media, "The average price of onion in Ahmednagar market has increased from Rs 35 per kg about 10 days ago to Rs 45 per kg now."

Onion prices increased by 25-30 percent in the capital Delhi and surrounding areas.
In the country's capital Delhi and surrounding areas, onion prices have increased by 25-50 percent and have reached Rs 50 to 70 per kg. The price of the best quality pyat touched Rs 50 per kg in Delhi on Wednesday. Even in the Maharashtra market, good quality onions are being sold at almost the same price. In some places, onion prices have even reached Rs 60 to Rs 70 per kg. There is a possibility that onion prices will continue to rise till the arrival of the Kharif crop in the market i.e. till December.

Onion grown in the Kharif season, which is usually harvested in the month of October-November, started arriving in mid-September this year. According to experts, this time the sowing area in Maharashtra has decreased by 36 percent to about 58,000 hectares due to which the prices have increased.

Sowing reduced due to losses in the last two years
According to experts, sowing of Kharif onion has reduced in the southern states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh because farmers have suffered losses in the last two years. Onion production has further reduced due to below-normal rainfall in these states. In August this year, the Center imposed a duty of 40 percent on onion exports to curb rising prices due to delays in the Kharif crop and less sowing. This fee will remain applicable till December 31.

Over that period, onion retail inflation rose to 11.7 percent in July from 1.7 percent in June. Along with tomatoes, onions contributed to the sharp rise in vegetable inflation last month, which rose to 37.3 percent in July from -0.7 percent in June.

During this time, the Central Government has also decided to increase the buffer stock limit from 3 lakh tonnes to 5 lakh tonnes to improve the domestic availability of onion. Besides, onions from the buffer stock were sold at a subsidized rate of Rs 25 per kg through retail outlets and mobile vans of the National Cooperative Consumer Federation (NCCF).

(PC: Freepik)