Consumers are tearing up over the surging prices of onions that are burning a hole in their pocket
This picture has been used for representational purposes.
The sharp increase in onion prices is a cause of concern as the kitchen staple is now priced at Rs 70-80 per kilograms in Mumbai and traders feel that the prices may go up further in the days to come. The cost of the vegetable went up by 33 per cent price last week and over 70 per cent in the month of September. The price rise is said to be at a four-year-high
What has caused the price rise of onions
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Heavy rains in the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, western Madhya Pradesh and eastern Rajasthan have led to the destruction of onion crops hitting the production quantity. Traders further said that though the supply of stored onion of the previous year's crop was sufficient in the country, supply shortage has caused the rise in prices as transportation has been affected because of heavy rains. The skyrocketing prices of onions have pushed retail markets in Mumbai to trade at Rs 60 per kilogram on reduced supply from wholesale markets.
Also Read: Nashik: Onions worth Rs 1 lakh stolen from farmer's store house
This picture has been used for representational purposes
Set to hit a century?
According to few predictions by traders, due to the steady upward prices rise onion price may touch Rs 100 per kg very soon. At present, last year’s stored onions are sold in the markets across the country as the stock of the fresh summer Kharif crop is said to reach the markets by November. In Maharashtra’s Lasalgaon, Asia’s largest wholesale onion market in, the price of the vegetable saw a marginal decline at Rs 41per kilograms compared to Rs 45 per kilogram last week. Moreover, the onion supply in the wholesale markets in Mumbai is said to have plunged from 2500 tonnes from the peak arrival season to just 140 tonnes.
This picture has been used for representational purposes
Government steps in
The Centre has said earlier to have taken measures to curb the onion prices by offloading their buffer stock through their agricultural produce marketing agencies. The NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India) and the NCCF (National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Limited) are said to be pricing the produce at around Rs 22 per kilograms. As the central government is said to have 56,000 tonnes as buffer stock, 16,000 tonnes is said to have been offloaded so far with some of them being sold in these government-run agencies. The centre also is said to have advised against the exporting onion due to risen export prices. It also has withdrawn incentives in the bid to crackdown on the illegal sales in the black market. The government is also said to be planning to put a clamp on the stock of onions to boost physical supply to wholesale markets. With a surge of this record, wholesalers are reportedly now asking the government to levy subsidy on onions as the prices are predicted to crash once the fresh stocks arrive.
Here's how the Twitterati responded on alarmingly skyrocketing prices of onions with some taking a dig at the ruling BJP government.
पà¥Âu00c2u008dयाà¤Âu00c2u009c रà¥Âu00c2u0081लाà¤Âu00c2u008f à¤Âu00c2u0095à¥Âu00c2u008cन बà¤Âu00c2u009aाà¤Âu00c2u008f?
— VSwapnil2010 (@Swapnil56V) September 24, 2019
Hike in the price of onions is now a serious concern rather than the inappropriate agenda driven political issues being covered by a majority of media these days.#OnionPrice #onionpricehike pic.twitter.com/6NaZXJqjHx
Then #Nehru is not responsible for onion price hike?#OnionPrice #EconomicSlowdown https://t.co/LRojf2mN6H
— நà®Âu00c2u0095à¯Âu00c2u008dà®Âu00c2u0095à¯Âu00c2u0080ரனà¯Âu00c2u008d Nakkeeran (@nav__n) September 24, 2019
#Onion and #Petrol having competition in #India, Who will rise higher.#OnionPrice #onions #PetrolPriceHike
— Yogi (@yogendrapal72) September 24, 2019
Buying onion at 80/- per kg...ab toh pyar ke ansu ke din aa gaye #OnionPrice #stocker #inflation #achedinaagaye# pic.twitter.com/qEiTCkgOSZ
— Priyanka Vijayvargiy (@PriyankaVijayv1) September 22, 2019
BJP in the opposition made an issue even of the humble Onion when in the opposition brought them to where they are today. But our opposition now is in deep slumber. #OnionPrice https://t.co/p8gJIyKAZ1
— Abhilash (@knowabhilash) September 23, 2019
When the vegetable vendor told me the #OnionPrice pic.twitter.com/ewdwO1gnC9
— Akshi (@akshichawla) September 23, 2019
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