With surge in demand and drop in supply, the price of good quality onions is retailing at nearly ₹80 a kg, while it is ₹60 a kg at HOPCOMS.
Nearly 1 lakh to 1.5 lakh sacks of onions used arrive in the city every day. This, according to B.L. Shankarappa, APMC Yard Merchants’ Association, had come down drastically to just around 60,000.
“Across the country, the onion production has dropped. Onion crop was destroyed in the floods and heavy rains that lashed many parts of Maharashtra and North Karnataka. The onion prices in retail shops are higher,” he said.
Onion merchant V. Ravishankar said the price of onions may continue to hover on the higher side until the new crop from Chitradurga and Challakere is harvested and arrives in the city in a few weeks’ time. Next month, crop from Gadag and Hubballi is expected to arrive in the city, while produce from Maharashtra is expected in November-December. “If there are no rains at the time of harvest, the supply will stabilise and so will the price,” he said.
Meanwhile, the price of other vegetables has come down marginally. Sources said production of vegetables, including beans, gourds, brinjal, capsicum and chilli, had increased in Chickballapur, Doddaballapur, and surrounding areas.