Onion prices score a century in Bengal

The price of onion is bringing tears in the eyes of its consumers in Bengal, with a kilo of the staple costing a whopping Rs 100 on Monday in some city retail markets. The vegetable not only scored a "century`, its price shot even higher in a few markets.

Onion had been selling at Rs 70-80 a kilo over the past couple of weeks.

Traders, however, felt the price would hover around the present figure, if not at a higher range for a few more days, as the state`s decision to import onions from Rajasthan and Karnataka to boost the stock would see on-ground effect only next month.

A member of the state task force on vegetables said the situation has come to this pass because of the heavy rains in Maharastra`s Nashik, which resulted in a large quantity of the bulb rotting following water seepage.

Maharashtra supplies about 70,000 tones of onion to Bengal every month, out of the state`s total requirement of one lakh tonnes. Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh supplies the rest.

The onion supply from Nashik is expected to arrive in the metropolis in mid-December, when the prices would ease further.