Onion 2.0: Price surges to Rs 120/kg; Centre gives up

New Delhi: Households battling the impact of pervasive economic slowdown got a rude shock this week when onion prices spiked unexpectedly to Rs 110-120 a kg. Adding to their woes, the Centre has washed its hands off the issue, saying that there is nothing much for the government to do to control the onion prices at this moment.

Leaving consumers a teary-eyed, soaring onion, in its second phase, is retailing at Rs 110-120, after stabilising around Rs 80-90 a kg in the previous weeks, in almost all states and major cities like Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bhubaneswar and Pune, reports from mandis show.

The price surge comes soon after the government on November 19 announced an estimated 26 per cent fall in onion output in the kharif and late-kharif seasons of this fiscal, saying that there may be some impact in both supply and prices of onion across almost all parts of the country.

As part of measure to arrest rising prices of the kitchen staple, the government is learnt to have extended the ban on onion exports indefinitely. Earlier, the Centre had extended it till February, sensing a surge in domestic prices following mass damage of the bulbs due to untimely incessant rains and floods.

“We have no option but to extend the ban on onion exports indefinitely as domestic prices have skyrocketed sharply in many parts of the country. Besides, the farmers have suffered a lot in their summer harvest, which was delayed and the crop got damaged heavily by untimely rains,” said a senior official of the agriculture ministry, requesting not to be named.

“Even on Thursday, consumers in almost all states are paying Rs 90-110 or above for a kilo of onions while the prices are even higher in south Indian states, where it is retailing at Rs 120-130 per kilo. In Delhi, onion prices are retailing at Rs 70-90 per kilo,” the official added.

However, by the official data, the average selling price of onion is Rs 70 per kg while Panaji has recorded the maximum rate of Rs 110 per kg.

Consumer Affairs Ministry data says onion is selling at Rs 76 per kg in Delhi, Rs 92 in Mumbai, Rs 100 in Kolkata and Rs 80 per kg in Chennai.

While Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal accused the Centre of stopping the supply of the kitchen staple at controlled price, the government countered it, saying that it is taking all possible steps to normalise prices. “It’s not in our hand, the government is making maximum efforts, but who can win nature,” said Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan.

According to sources, in order to fight the onion crisis, the government is expected to order for about 6,090 tonnes of onions from Egypt and the consignments are likely to arrive in December. Department of Consumer Affairs Secretary A.K. Srivastava also hinted that the imported onions would be sold at Rs 52-55 per kilo in Delhi.