After wild swings in tomato prices, onion rates soar

Onion prices in the wholesale market in Okhla, New Delhi climbed to as high as Rs 35 per kilogram on Monday, days after wild swings in the prices of tomatoes led to restaurants cutting back on the staple in popular dishes amid a surge of more than six times in prices.

Onion was sold at the prices of Rs 25, Rs 30 and Rs 35 per kilogram in the wholesale market. The prices of the staple vegetable vary depending on quality.

The government started to release onions at a price of Rs 25 per kilogram in the affected markets to ease the pain for the consumer.

Meanwhile, traders in the Lasalgaon wholesale market, located in Nashik district in Maharashtra, protested against a central 40 per cent export duty on the bulb in a bid to enhance its availability in the domestic market. 

"No onion is being sold in the market… Traders are upset,” one trader told Zee Business, adding that the 40 per cent export duty should be reduced. 

“Bad weather has hurt onion crop… The duty should be removed altogether… Onion must be exported,” another trader said. 

Last week, the Union government imposed the export duty on onions till December with an immediate effect, after wholesale onion prices jumped an average 20 per cent compared with the previous month amid concerns about the impact of erratic rainfall on yields.

The export duty — the first ever such duty on onions — was announced after the retail sale price of onions rose to Rs 37 per kilogram in New Delhi on Saturday.

On Sunday, the government in an unprecedented move raised the quantum of onion buffer for the year to five lakh metric tonnes, after achieving the initial procurement target of three lakh metric tonnes. The Department of Consumer Affairs directed cooperatives NCCF and NAFED to procure one lakh tonne each to achieve the additional target alongside a calibrated disposal of the procured stocks in major consumption centres. Read more on the government's increased onion buffer

India is the world's biggest exporter of onions. In the first half of 2023, the country's export of the crop increased 63 per cent to 1.46 million metric tonnes compared with the corresponding period a year ago.

Consumer inflation in the country — gauged by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which includes a basket of items including vegetables such as onions — worsened to a 15-month high in July thanks to a surge in the prices of vegetables and cereals.

(With inputs from agencies)