PUNE/NASHIK: Wholesale onion prices have started coming down in the city, but citizens continue to shell out nearly double the amount in the retail market for the kitchen staple.
A kg of onion costs anywhere between Rs 50 and Rs 60 in the retail market as against the wholesale price of Rs 25 to Rs 30 for a kg. Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) officials said there was no demand-supply mismatch in the Pune market.
APMC (Pune) director Bajirao Dighe told TOI, "We were getting stored produce from Nashik, Ahmednagar and some tehsils of Pune district even a few days ago. New harvest in small quantity has started reaching the city, bringing down the prices."
He added, "There has to be a mechanism to control the retail prices. The retailers sell the produce at higher prices and it is unfortunate. We think that the prices will not fall below Rs 30 a kg till the fresh stock arrives in January."
The scenario in Lasalgaon in different with average wholesale onion price increasing from Rs 1,000 per quintal on September 14 to Rs 2,701 per quintal on November 14. "There were floods in Gujarat and Rajasthan in August that not only spoiled the onions, but also led to a drop in onion acreage. The shortage of onions in MP, Gujarat and Rajasthan led to increased pressure on Maharashtra. This is why the demand for Maharashtra's onions have shot up," onion trader Manoj Jain said.
According to onion traders, the average wholesale onion price has increased in the APMCs due to decline in supply, but this is a temporary situation. The situation will return to normal within a month when the arrival of fresh kharif crop picks up.
Chairman of Lasalgaon APMC Jaydatta Holkar expressed surprise at the findings of the Union ministry of commerce about the inflation of onions. "Although the Centre has fixed the minimum support price (MSP) of most agricultural commodities, nothing has been done to decide the MSP of onions. So how can government say there has been rise in inflation of onions by 127% in past six months," he asked.
According to him, the average wholesale onion prices were around Rs 300-400 a quintal in May. The production cost for growing onions is around Rs 900 a quintal.
"Farmers incur losses if they get a price below that. They had to suffer losses of crores of rupees due to the low onion prices. Now, we are comparing the rise on the basis of these low rates, which is completely wrong," added Holkar. "The government is consumer-oriented, but it does not think about the farmers who incurred huge losses due to low rates for the past year up to May end," he said.
A kg of onion costs anywhere between Rs 50 and Rs 60 in the retail market as against the wholesale price of Rs 25 to Rs 30 for a kg. Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) officials said there was no demand-supply mismatch in the Pune market.
APMC (Pune) director Bajirao Dighe told TOI, "We were getting stored produce from Nashik, Ahmednagar and some tehsils of Pune district even a few days ago. New harvest in small quantity has started reaching the city, bringing down the prices."
He added, "There has to be a mechanism to control the retail prices. The retailers sell the produce at higher prices and it is unfortunate. We think that the prices will not fall below Rs 30 a kg till the fresh stock arrives in January."
The scenario in Lasalgaon in different with average wholesale onion price increasing from Rs 1,000 per quintal on September 14 to Rs 2,701 per quintal on November 14. "There were floods in Gujarat and Rajasthan in August that not only spoiled the onions, but also led to a drop in onion acreage. The shortage of onions in MP, Gujarat and Rajasthan led to increased pressure on Maharashtra. This is why the demand for Maharashtra's onions have shot up," onion trader Manoj Jain said.
According to onion traders, the average wholesale onion price has increased in the APMCs due to decline in supply, but this is a temporary situation. The situation will return to normal within a month when the arrival of fresh kharif crop picks up.
Chairman of Lasalgaon APMC Jaydatta Holkar expressed surprise at the findings of the Union ministry of commerce about the inflation of onions. "Although the Centre has fixed the minimum support price (MSP) of most agricultural commodities, nothing has been done to decide the MSP of onions. So how can government say there has been rise in inflation of onions by 127% in past six months," he asked.
According to him, the average wholesale onion prices were around Rs 300-400 a quintal in May. The production cost for growing onions is around Rs 900 a quintal.
"Farmers incur losses if they get a price below that. They had to suffer losses of crores of rupees due to the low onion prices. Now, we are comparing the rise on the basis of these low rates, which is completely wrong," added Holkar. "The government is consumer-oriented, but it does not think about the farmers who incurred huge losses due to low rates for the past year up to May end," he said.
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