Onion prices drop by 50% in a week

NAVI MUMBAI: Onion prices, which have become a burden on consumers’ pockets, have fallen sharply by about 50% in the last week. This is due to the arrival of new crop and the imposition of duty on export. Vegetable traders said that as more fresh stock reaches the market, prices will fall further.

Wholesale prices at the Vashi APMC (Agricultural Produce Market Committee) market, which supplies the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, have come down from ₹45-50 per kg last week to ₹20-25 per kg on Friday. Traders said that prices in the retail market have come down from ₹80-90 per kg to ₹60-70 per kg.

Ashok Karpe, a wholesale onion trader at the APMC market, said, “The new crop this winter is very good. It is reaching the market in large quantities mainly from Ahmednagar, Nashik, Sangamner and Pune.”

He said that the supply has also increased due to the imposition of export duty by the government. “The duty has come down from 40% to 20%, but it is still not possible to export onions as the price is high. Also, Sri Lanka has waived tax on onions, making our onions expensive in the international market,” the trader said.

While onion prices are still high, the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. imported a large quantity of onions from Gujarat and sold it at just ₹12-15 per kg. This has also played a role in bringing down the price. “Onion prices will fall further to around ₹15-18 per kg as more stocks arrive in the coming days. If the export duty is waived completely, prices will stabilise at around ₹20 per kg,” Karpe said.

Onion prices have also fallen sharply in the retail market, though not as much as the wholesale prices. “We are now selling onions at Rs 60-70 per kg as against Rs 90 per kg a few days ago as there is a good supply of fresh stock now.

The quality of the new onions is very good, so there has not been much drop in retail prices,” said Rajesh Yadav, a vegetable retailer in Vashi.