Retail onion prices hit Rs 60 per kg in Mumbai on reduced supply

Onion prices have jumped in the Mumbai retail market to trade at Rs 60 a kg on reduced supply from wholesale mandis. In other metro centres also, the retail onion price is hovering between Rs 58-65 a kg.

Onion has become costlier by over 33 per cent in the last one week and over 70 per cent in September so far. Farmers and stockists have reduced supply from cold storage amid expectations of further increase in prices. In Mumbai wholesale mandi, onion supply has declined to 140 tonnes now from the level of 2500 tonnes in the peak arrival season. According to sources, the government is considering levying stock limit and ban on exports to boost physical supply into mandis.

“With the new season crop arrival is a month away, onion prices would continue to rise. The government’s imposition of $850 a tonne of the minimum export price and proposing 2,000 tonnes of its import have not helped control prices. Any further action, however, would yield negative impact on onion prices when the new season crop gets harvested. The government will have to offer subsidy as onion prices would crash with the onset of arrivals,” said Sanjay Sanap, an onion wholesaler based in Nashik district of Maharashtra.

In the benchmark Lasalgaon mandi, onion prices have declined albeit marginally to trade at Rs 41 a kg on Monday from the four-year high level of Rs 45 a kg on September 19.