Wholesale prices of onion slid in Nashik, Delhi

Wholesale onion prices dipped further today with the fall as steep as 20 per cent in Nashik in Maharashtra besides a marginal decline in Delhi in the wake of steps taken by the government.

Onion was sold between Rs 8-35 a kg in the wholesale in Azadpur market (Asia's biggest fruit & vegetable market) today in comparison to Rs 10-37.5 per kg yesterday, Chairman, Delhi Agricultural Marketing Board, Braham Yadav told PTI.

The decline in Onion prices in Nashik, the biggest producing region in India, stood at Rs 8 per kg.

He, however, said the supply of the important vegetable dropped in Azadpur today, but it did not have any negative impact on the prices.

Against arrival of 1200 tonnes of onion in Azadpur market yesterday the supply today was only 600 tonnes,he added.

But, the fall in arrival had no negative impact as transportation of the vegetable from here to Eastern states cities like Gauhati, Silliguri and other cities of West Bengal stopped from today.

Though these centres are normally fed by Maharashtra, they were being bought from Delhi recently after the supply had dried from the western state.

Wholesale onion prices in the major producing regions of Lasalgoan and Manmad in Nashik district also came down by 20 per cent today.

At Lasalgaon mandi, wholesale onion prices fell to Rs 3,200 a quintal for best quality onions from Rs 4,000 per quintal yesterday.

This was despite the fact that just 9,000 quintals of onions made their way into the Lasalgaon market today, compared to 12,000 quintals yesterday, according to data compiled by the National Horticulture Research and Development Foundation.

However, prices of best quality onions rose by 15 per cent at Pimpalgaon, another major market in Maharashtra's Nashik district.

The dip in wholesale prices of onion is seen as a fallout of government's measures to ban exports, abolish import duty and ask state governments to go after the hoarders.