Wholesale onion prices fall to Rs 4.70/kg, lowest in Financial Year 2014

NEW DELHI: Wholesale onion prices at Nashik dropped to Rs 4.70 a kg today, the lowest level so far in this financial year, as supplies continued to rise and exports were expected to decline.

Prices at Nashik, which sets the market trend for onions in the country, had peaked at Rs 100 per kg in the third week of October.

"In the last month or so, onion prices have crashed as markets were already full with the kharif onion and now, late kharif crop has been coming in," R P Gupta, Director of the National Horticultural Research and Development Foundation, told PTI.

He said the price of Rs 4.70 per kg was the lowest for onions in the current financial year. Traders say prices are subdued also because export shipments are likely to decline. Overseas shipments are expected to come down by 10-15 per cent due to lack of demand abroad as onions from other countries fill the markets, trader Ajit Shah said.

During April-December, onion exports dropped 30 per cent to 9.87 lakh tonnes from 14.04 lakh tonnes in the same period a year earlier. India exported 18.22 lakh tonnes of onions in 2012-13