After remaining stable for over a year, the price of onion, a common ingredient in Indian cuisine, has begun to soar over the past one week. Rain that wreaked havoc in Gujarat and Maharashtra has affected the supply to the city, traders said.
Onions were priced at ₹40/kg in retail market on Wednesday and this may further go up, note traders.
The Koyambedu wholesale market receives only half of the normal onion loads of 65 trucks daily. The city mainly receives its stock from Maharashtra and Gujarat apart from Karnataka.
With the floods damaging crops in those States, less than half of the produce is reaching the city. Moreover, stocks from Karnataka are also being diverted to other places in north India like Delhi and Mumbai where the demand is high, traders said.
Onions are priced up to ₹35 per kg in the wholesale market due to the increasing shortage, said P.Sukumar, joint secretary, Koyambedu Vegetables, Fruits and Flowers Merchants Association. Cabbage, a vegetable that is usually cheap, has become dearer as truck loads are being diverted to north India.
Price of tomatoes down
Though cost of tomatoes is steadily dipping, it still remains out of reach for many consumers and is priced up to ₹68 per kg in retail stores. S. Chandran, a wholesale merchant, said the market has started getting fresh supply of tomatoes from Hosur belt and this has brought down the price. “But, we may have to wait till December for the onions to cost less as produce from Andhra Pradesh may arrive only then. Cost of onions may even go up to ₹60 a kg in retail market,” he said.
The supply scenario at Koyambedu wholesale complex is significant as several small markets in Chennai and other places such as Tindivanam, Cuddalore and Vandavasi depend on this wholesale hub for their supply. The sudden surge in prices of vegetables and off-season for weddings have also contributed to dull sales in the market. It may one or two months for sales to pick up, traders said.