PUNE: This will really sting — the staple of cooking and salad plates, the onion, is all set to hit Rs 100/per kg in retail markets in a week. Traders say Indian onions, already retailing at Rs 80/ per kg in some cities, are now the "most expensive" in the world.
And that Chinese and Pakistani onions, which some traders have already placed orders for and are likely to arrive in 15 days, may be the consumer's best ally.
Delhi may be the only major metro to escape the Rs 100 onion sting for now because the state government has been intervening in the markets, selling onions at Rs 35-40 per kg through government outlets.
Congress-ruled Delhi goes to elections in November. In 1989, the then BJP-ruled Delhi state government was famously voted out on the back of the electorate's anger at high onion prices. Onion's century has come at a first clip. Retail prices were around Rs 20 only two months ago.
Onion's Second Century
A weak crop, partly thanks to heavy rains, and price expectations that are as yet discounting new supplies are pushing onions to the Rs 100/kg territory. This is onion's second century.
Retail prices had climbed to Rs 100/kg in December 2010 too. But wholesalers point out that market conditions this time are more forbidding for consumers because wholesale prices have reached never-seen high levels. Wholesale prices have risen to Rs 47/kg in the principal wholesale markets of Maharashtra, the biggest onion producer.
"For the first time, average onion prices have become so high in the country. In December 2010, when retail prices had touched Rs 100/kg, the average prices were not more than Rs 40/kg," said RP Gupta, director, National Horticulture Research and Development Foundation (NHRDF) at Nashik. Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has, however, ruled out a ban on onion exports, saying a ban would do "injustice to onion famers".
And that Chinese and Pakistani onions, which some traders have already placed orders for and are likely to arrive in 15 days, may be the consumer's best ally.
Delhi may be the only major metro to escape the Rs 100 onion sting for now because the state government has been intervening in the markets, selling onions at Rs 35-40 per kg through government outlets.
Congress-ruled Delhi goes to elections in November. In 1989, the then BJP-ruled Delhi state government was famously voted out on the back of the electorate's anger at high onion prices. Onion's century has come at a first clip. Retail prices were around Rs 20 only two months ago.
Onion's Second Century
A weak crop, partly thanks to heavy rains, and price expectations that are as yet discounting new supplies are pushing onions to the Rs 100/kg territory. This is onion's second century.
Retail prices had climbed to Rs 100/kg in December 2010 too. But wholesalers point out that market conditions this time are more forbidding for consumers because wholesale prices have reached never-seen high levels. Wholesale prices have risen to Rs 47/kg in the principal wholesale markets of Maharashtra, the biggest onion producer.
"For the first time, average onion prices have become so high in the country. In December 2010, when retail prices had touched Rs 100/kg, the average prices were not more than Rs 40/kg," said RP Gupta, director, National Horticulture Research and Development Foundation (NHRDF) at Nashik. Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has, however, ruled out a ban on onion exports, saying a ban would do "injustice to onion famers".
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