Onion prices crash to 2-year low, now at Rs 700 a quintal

NASHIK: The average wholesale onion prices fell to a two-year low of Rs 700 a quintal at the markets in Nashik on Wednesday due to excess production. The bulb was selling at anything between Rs 10 and Rs15 a kg in retail markets. The fall led to wholesale markets being briefly shut on Tuesday.

Prices have been steadily falling for a week now, heightening worries of farmers who cannot hold on to this perishable commodity till prices stabilise. The minimum price has been Rs 400 a quintal and the maximum Rs 1090, bringing the average to around Rs 700.The last time prices fell this fast was on April 11, 2014, at Rs 725 a quintal.

Nanasaheb Patil, chairman of the Lasalgaon Agriculture Produce Market Committee and director of the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation, said the cost of onion production is around Rs 900 a quintal. "Due to the drought, farmers lost their corn and soyabean crops. Rabi crops are yet to be sown. It is worrisome for farmers if they now lose out on cash crops."