Unseasonal rain in various parts of southern districts during December has hit shallot production and as a result with the dip in supply, the price has gone up in Dindigul market.
Price of one kg of shallot that would be usually sold for ₹20 to ₹40 a kg after Pongal was now being sold for ₹40 to ₹70 a kg.
“In normal time, we would get at least 4,000 bags, each weighing 50 kg to 60 kg, of shallots from Mysuru, Tirupur, Dindigul, Theni and Andipatti,” said, M. Marimuthu, a trader here.
However, due to the unseasonal rains, shallots from Vedasandur Namakkal and Vilathikulam alone are coming to Dindigul market.
“We are getting only one third of the usual supply these days. The market was receiving around 1,000 bags of shallots,” he said.
Usually, fresh arrivals would start during the Tamil month of Thai. However, due to short supply, the price of shallots has gone up.
The traders expect normal supply of shallots to start in another 10 days.
“ If there are no export orders for Sri Lanka and Malaysia in the next few days, the price of shallots will go down.Otherwise, it might remain on a higher level”, Mr. Marimuthu said.