Restaurant in Gujarat feels the pinch, stops serving onions to customers

Customers at a restaurant in Gujarat's Rajkot city are greeted by banners reading, "we have stopped giving onions in salad" thanks to the skyrocketing prices of the staple.

The 40-year-old restaurant in Rajkot that serves vegetarian cuisine has stopped serving onions in its salads for the past one week.

The customers visiting the outlet said it was for the first time that such a measure has been taken by the restaurant.

"I have been coming to this restaurant for last four to five years to eat food. They give onions all the time and never charge for it. But today they did not give onions. On asking I was told that the use of onion has been stopped for some time due to the skyrocketing prices," said Nileshbhai, a customer.

Onion prices have more than tripled over the course of monsoon season, which started in June. Prices hit Rs. 80 in parts of the country as scant monsoon rain delays plantings.

"When the onions used to cost around Rs. 40 to 50, we used to give it to our customers. But now it costs Rs. 80 to 90 per kilogram. We cannot give it to our customers anymore and that is the reason we have stopped including onions in our salads and put up banners asking the customers to adjust," said Ritesh Gohel, the restaurant's co-owner.

In 2013, onion prices hit around Rs. 100 in the country, leading to protests across cities. With unseasonal rain damaging the crops, the new onion arrival has been delayed leading to rise in prices.