India: Onion prices continue to sting, despite govt efforts

Despite the central government's all-out efforts to anchor rising onion prices by extending the stoc…

Despite the central government's all-out efforts to anchor rising onion prices by extending the stock limit until next June as an essential commodity along with potato, its price has gone through the roof, retailing at Rs 45-50 per kilo across the Mumbai metropolitan region. Traders feel prices will not drop unless the government's proposed import shipment arrives in the domestic market.

Selling at Rs 35-40 per kilo in the wholesale market, up from its previous high of Rs 32-35 and thereby pushing retail prices to Rs 45-50 per kilo from Rs 35-40, the steep rise is attributed to scarce supply due to unseasonal rainfall earlier this year, followed by hailstorms which compounded the crisis and the poor rains now. Most of the stock arriving in the APMC market is damaged, impacting the quality and quantity of product the Mumbai region is getting.

In early July, the wholesale price for onions was Rs 16 per kilo and Rs 25 in retail. In less than a month, prices have more than doubled. Consumers feel that the government has failed to control the price of this key kitchen staple even after imposing stock limits on traders holding onions and banning hoarding beyond the set limit.