Onion prices down 10-15% in Maharashtra on better supplies

PUNE: Onion prices have come down by 10%-15 % this month in Maharashtra, the largest producer, due to increased availability. Prices in Lasalgaon, Pimpalgaon and other major markets in Nashik, Pune and Ahmednagar districts have come down during the last 8-10 days.
The current average wholesale price is Rs 4.50/ kg to Rs 5/kg, which has fallen by Rs 1/kg to Rs 2/kg over a month. Supplies to Lasalgaon and Malegaon were at 18,000 quintal and 15,000 quintal respectively on Tuesday while the average prices varied between Rs 4.50/kg and Rs 5/kg.

On August 16, supplies to Lasalgaon were at 26,990 quintal while the average price was Rs 6.40/kg. A bumper production of rabi onion had kept the prices subdued earlier this year. But farmers were hoping that prices would go up when it didn’t rain much in June and July. The prices moved up slightly to Rs 6/kg to Rs 6.50/kg in Maharashtra in August, following which the agriculture ministry was contemplating the re-imposition of the minimum export price (MEP).

Currently, there is no MEP on onion as prices are ruling low. But prices have dropped by Rs 1/ kg to Rs 2/kg this month. “As the stored stock started rotting and sprouting, farmers have brought poor quality onions to the market . They are still holding on to good ones in the hope of an improvement in prices in October,” said RP Gupta, director, National Horticulture Research and Development Foundation.

Newly-harvested crop is now available in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, stopping supplies from Maharashtra to the south. Southern states are also feeding Bengal and Orissa, replacing the Maharashtra onion, which has also affected the prices in the state.