This Diwali, you may have to pay a high price for the onions. The prices are likely to go up to Rs 40 to 45 per kg, what with wholesale prices records a 50% jump at Lasalgaon APMC in Maharashtra in the past few days. According to traders, the Kharif crop is expected to be lower owing to a drought-like situation in the state and with wholesale markets remaining closed during the main Hindu festival, prices may rise from the current retail price of Rs 15 to 20 per kg throughout India.
In Nashik, the wholesale onion markets will remain closed for around 7 to 8 days during Diwali break that can be a reason for the price spike. The average wholesale price of onion jumped 50% from Rs 12 per kg on last Friday to Rs 18 per kg this week at Lasalgaon APMC, the standard market which sets onion prices for the whole country. At present, onions are coming to the markets from the stored stocks. Due to this, farmers have incurred 40% storage losses on these stocks.
Traders are also claiming that lack of rain for extended spells coupled with increased heat waves are likely to drop the kharif crop size substantially. An onion exporter Danish Shah said, “There was no rainfall even during the Navaratri festival. Onion seedlings have been wilting at some places and this will reduce the size of the onion bulb, lowering the total output of the kharif crop”.
