Nashik: Average wholesale price of onions up 15%

NASHIK: The average wholesale price of onions at Lasalgaon APMC increased by around 15% — from Rs 1,930 per quintal on Saturday to Rs 2,225 per quintal on Monday.
The arrival of the summer onions at Lasalgaon APMC have almost exhausted and the arrival of late kharif onions is yet to pick up. According to APMC officials, the arrival of summer onions have reduced to 4,500 quintal per day as against 10,000 quintal/day before Diwali.
The summer onions have a shelf life of over six months and farmers prefer storing them with a hope of getting better price. These onions are harvested in March and April and there is no new crop for the next six months till October-end — until arrival of fresh kharif onions. Hence, the summer onions stored by the farmers cater to the market until the fresh kharif onions arrive.
This year, the onion crops have been badly damaged due to rains. Also, the arrival of late kharif onions have begun, but in very low quantity — around 500 quintal per day.
APMC officials said the arrival of fresh late kharif onions is expected to increase in the next two-three weeks and the price will be in the range between Rs 2,000 and Rs 2,500 per quintal during the next fortnight.
On Monday, the minimum and maximum wholesale onion prices at Lasalgaon were recorded at Rs 900 and Rs 2,555 per quintal respectively. Around 5,600 quintal of onions were auctioned at the APMC.