Onion prices double

Onion prices in the city have risen by almost two times over the last one week,reportedly because of late sowing in the onion growing belts of Nasik and Saurashtra due to delayed monsoon.

Onion prices in the city have risen by almost two times over the last one week,reportedly because of late sowing in the onion growing belts of Nasik (Maharashtra) and Saurashtra due to delayed monsoon.

An official in the State Horticulture Department said that kharif onion sowing had been delayed by at least a month in Saurashtra as also in Nasik. As the new crop would not be ready before October,it will lead to rise in prices. Generally,the kharif onion crop is harvested in September.

Dealers say that since the new crop will come late,traders in the onion producing region are allegedly hoarding the commodity hoping that prices will rise further.

Chimanbhai Patel Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee(APMC),which received around 40 truckloads of onion daily from different parts of the country,is now receiving a maximum of 30 trucks daily,leading to shortage of the commodity and price rise.

APMC official Hemang Patel said the wholesale prices of the commodity have gone up from Rs 150 per 20 kg to Rs 220 per 20 kg. He said the prices in the retail market have gone up to almost twice the prices in the wholesale market.

Residents of Bodakdev and Vastrapur areas said that onion is available at Rs 20 per kg in the local retail markets against Rs 8 to Rs 10 per kg a week ago.

This is the second time in the last eight months that the prices of onion have risen sharply. Last December,the retail prices had gone as high as Rs 90 per kg. It came down after the Centre banned its export in February.

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