Fresh onion stock to reach market, prices likely to fall

NEW DELHI: With a fresh stock of onions entering the city's market on Tuesday , experts said that prices were expected to fall in coming days. The wholesale market has seen a steady fall since Monday--the maximum price came down from around Rs 57-58 per kg to Rs 55 per kg on Tuesday.

Even as traders claim there sufficient stock in the city, several residents complained that onions were difficult to come by during the day and prices continued to remain in the Rs 60 to Rs 100 bracket. Anindya Sarkar, a resident of Mayur Vihar, said he was unable to buy onions on Tuesday morning since all shops, including the Safal outlets, had run out. “I finally managed to buy onions in the afternoon for Rs 80 per kg,“ he said.

Meanwhile, Delhi government wrote to Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday , asking him to ensure that there was no hoarding of onions in the state. “In the present context, it is felt that availability of onions in the market can be increased to some extent by preventing hoarding and black-marketing tendencies which may have crept in for gaining undue advantage. I urge you to direct your officers to ensure action is taken against such acts,“ wrote Asim Ahmed Khan, minister for food and civil supplies.

Officials of Azadpur wholesale market said that new crop from Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra had started coming into Delhi and there was absolutely no shortage of onions. In fact, some said that they had refused to comply with Delhi government's orders to sell only one kg per individual, saying that there was surplus supply.