The soaring price of onions has been a cause of worry yet again in the country and it has now touched a four-year high.
The price has gone on a steep rise all over the country: in Kolkata, it is currently selling at Rs. 60-70 per kilogram. Some “better quality” onions have been priced at Rs 75 per kg as well. Over the past few days, the price of onions has increased by Rs. 20 per kg. In parts of Mumbai and Delhi, it is being sold at Rs 80 per kg. In Bengaluru, Chennai and Dehradun, the prices have touched Rs. 60 per kg.
The reason behind such a steep rise in the prices is the curtailed supply of onions from states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh which are the primary onion producing states in India. Heavy monsoon in parts of the country coupled with low production are being said to be the other reasons for short supply.
Current price of onion is at a four year high and it is expected to continue for a month or so. Nanasaheb Patil, Director of the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED), has been quoted in various reports saying said that the kharif crop that was due to come in September, has been delayed by a month. Thus the customers will have to deal with the soaring prices till the November.
The Centre has released its stockpile of onions through organisations like NAFED and NCCF (National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India). The Centre is said to have a buffer reserve of 56,000 tonnes of onion of which 16,000 tonnes have been released into the market to counter the spiralling prices. The Centre has also asked states to discourage the hoarding of onions by dishonest traders.
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