The average wholesale price of onions at Lasalgaon APMC, the country’s largest wholesale onion market, has increased by 48% in just a week – from Rs 1,550 per quintal on August 4 to Rs 2,300 per quintal on Friday. This is the highest average wholesale onion price recorded in the last eight months. It had last crossed this rate in December, when it touched Rs 2,311 per quintal.
The arrivals of onions have also reduced in Lasalgaon from 20,000 quintals to 25,000 quintals a day to 15,000 quintals as farmers are busy with kharif sowing activities.
Demand for onions increases, supply still low
Sagar Jain, an onion trader, said there has been a rise in demand in the domestic market in the country compared to supply. Moreover, the demand for export from Bangladesh has also gone up.
“On the contrary, the fresh crop of onions in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka has been delayed by a month. The supply in Ahmednagar has also reduced. That overall led to a rise in demand for onions from Nashik,” said Jain.
APMC officials said that the arrivals of fresh crop in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have been delayed by a month due to rains.
Hence, the demand from South India has also increased. On the contrary, arrivals at the mandi have also reduced as most of the farmers are busy with kharif sowing activities.
R P Gupta, a former director, National Horticulture Research & Development Foundation (NHRDF) said that the kharif sowing plantation in major onion growing pockets in the country has been affected.
Moreover, the stock of summer onions, stored by small and medium farmers, is about to end. Only big farmers have a stock of onions in their storages.
“Moreover, arrivals of new crop in some onion growing states have also been delayed by a month, which has led to rise in average wholesale onion prices,” he added.
