With summer at its peak and absence of rain, poor arrival of shallots had resulted in prices touching a new high in retail outlets here, said onion merchants on Friday.
Among the vegetable markets, Dindigul is known for its wholesale onion market, the second biggest in Tamil Nadu.
Hundreds of tons of onions are transported to various parts, including Chennai, Mumbai, various northern States and Andhra Pradesh from here. However, the poor arrivals indicate that it may not be sufficient to meet the needs of the local markets.
While the merchants claimed that the prices hovered around ₹35 to ₹45 per kg in the wholesale market, it crossed the ₹50 mark per kg on Friday. Small onions, (shallots) which were sold at ₹25 to ₹30 per kg till last month, were priced at ₹50 per kg today. Onions, which were being sold at ₹30 to ₹40 a kg in the wholesale market, were selling at ₹50 to ₹55 in the retail market. The prices would be more in other cities/markets as merchants would incur transport charges.
Major onion producing centres, include Andipatti and Cumbum in Theni district, Sengurichi, Gujiliamparai, Vedasandur and Ayyalur in Dindigul district, Udumalpet, Dharapuram in Tirupur district, Tiruchi and a few places in Karnataka, including Mysore.
A wholesale vendor Sundar said that due to lack of rain, onion arrival had slumped to one-fourth of the normal arrival. The prices would be hovering around the same range for at least another fortnight. Probably, by this month-end, small onions would arrive from Mysore and other parts of Karnataka, after which the prices may start declining, he added.