Onion and tomato prices are troubled during festivals. The prices of staple vegetables like onions and tomatoes are expected to remain high in the coming festive season. Other vegetables like cabbage and bottle gourd have also seen a rise in prices due to damage caused by excessive rains. The hike in fuel prices has made matters worse.
onion prices
At present, onion prices are around Rs 60 per kg in cities like Mumbai and Delhi, mostly due to apprehensions of short supply. Weather is the biggest influencing factor with late rains and damage to the finished crops.
HS Bhalla, an onion dealer in Azadpur, said that if the weather continues to be a nuisance, the cost could go up a lot. However, if we get good weather, prices may remain stable till Diwali.
PM Kisan: Before Diwali, Modi government will give good news to the farmers! installment money will be double
Onion prices in Delhi’s largest wholesale supplier Lasalgaon market have doubled as compared to last month. Hubli market in northern Karnataka, which is a major supply center for kharif crops like onion, also saw a nearly 100 per cent increase in prices. Bengaluru APMC similarly saw its onion prices more than triple last month.
What is the government doing to provide relief?
The Center has started ramping up its supply in areas that are seeing prices higher than the national average. The Consumer Affairs Ministry has also released the buffer stock – 67,357 tonnes of the 208,000 tonnes of buffer stock set up for 2021-22 was released till October 12. Delhi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Patna, Ranchi, Guwahati, Bhubaneswar, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Kochi and Raipur were some of the areas where buffer stock was released.
Onion Exporters Association chief Ajit Shah said that onion prices have come down by Rs 3-4 per kg in the last several days. If there is no more rain in the coming days, the prices may remain stable at the current levels.
Apart from onions, the prices of tomatoes have also been affected. The prices of indigenous tomatoes have gone up in the retail markets of Delhi as well as NCR region, where tomatoes are selling at Rs 80-90 per kg.
The prices of other vegetables have also increased by Rs 10-15 per kg in the wholesale market and Rs 15-20 per kg in the retail market.
While the WPI inflation figures were lower in September due to lower vegetable prices, a fresh rise in food prices coupled with a steady rise in power costs is expected to raise the inflation rate once again.
Facebook us for social media updates (https://www.facebook.com/moneycontrolhindi/) and Twitter (.) to follow.
.