Onion prices soar in Delhi; traders blame it on supply shortage

The price of onions in the national capital on Saturday witnessed a huge increase to almost double the previous price affecting household budgets.
Onion traders are putting the blame for the sudden spike in onion prices on a shortage in supply.

According to the onion traders, the onions were priced at Rs 25-30 per kg before Navratri which have gone up to Rs 55-60 per kg in three days and these are being sold at Rs 65-70 per kg in the markets.

Currently, the retail prices in Delhi NCR stand at Rs 60 per kg from Rs 40 per kg a fortnight back due to delayed arrivals of harvest from key producing states like Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, as per an official of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs.

"The inflow of the onion is low resulting in high rates. Today the rates are Rs 350 (per 5 Kg). Yesterday, it was Rs 300. It was Rs 200 before that. A week ago, rates were Rs 200, Rs 160 or Rs 250 etc. The rates have gone up in the last week. The rates have risen due to a shortage in supply," an onion trader at Ghazipur vegetable market in Delhi said while speaking to ANI.

A customer at the market expressed concern about the soaring prices and said that earlier 1 kg of onion was available for Rs 20 now it is priced at Rs 50-60 per kg and added that if this continues it will affect the daily household expenses.

A vegetable vendor at Ghazipur market said that if the shortage of supply isn't met then the prices will soon reach Rs 100 per kg.

"We are here to purchase onion. The onion rates were Rs. 50 before Navratri, now it is Rs. 70/kg. Our purchase is at Rs 70 per kg and we will sell it at Rs 80/kg. Earlier, it was Rs 30-40 per kg. If this continues, the rates will reach Rs 100/kg," he said.

He further said, "The rates for onions have gone up the most. Rates for tomatoes have also gone up. Earlier, tomatoes were Rs 20/kg, now it is Rs 40-45 per kg. Tomatoes will also reach Rs. 70/kg if this continues."

Shamstabrej Raine, a wholesale rate seller of potatoes and onions, said that the rates of onions have increased since Navratri.

"Onion rates often increase after Navratri because 15 to 20 per cent of old onions are left and the new crop is late. The reason for the increase in onion rates is that today onion is being sold at Rs 50 to Rs 55 per kg in Nashik itself, so it is obvious that the freight from there will be Rs 5 per kg. We are selling onions at a wholesale rate of Rs 50 to Rs 60 per kg. This onion will be sold at retail for Rs 70 a kg," he said.

Ashok Kumar, a consumer said, "Earlier we used to buy whole sacks of onion to use in our homes, today onion has become so expensive that I am buying 5 kg onion in a plastic bag. I have come to Gorakhpur Mandi to buy onion, here onion is being sold at Rs 55 to Rs 60 per kg. Onions are available at Rs 70 per kg in retail shops outside."

The Ministry sources informed that it has procured over 5.07 lakh metric tonnes of onion and is all set to procure another 3 lakh metric tonnes in the days to come, which will help keep the price under control.

The government has disposed of over 1.74 lakh metric tonnes of onion in wholesale markets of Delhi, Haryana, Karnataka, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh, West Bengal, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Assam and Uttarakhand, the official said, adding that the prices of onion will start declining in coming days.

According to the official, the retail price matrix got disturbed due to the fall in the arrival of onions in Mandis. Still, the price of onion is much lower in comparison to 2021, when onion prices had crossed the Rs 100 mark, the official added.