Bhubaneswar: Even as the price of onion in retail market sky-rocketed to Rs 80 per kg Wednesday from Rs 50 a day before, consumers are all set to shed more tears as unexpected rains have damaged the crop in major onion-producing states in the south.
“It’s no less than a nightmare for me when I came to know about the onion price went to market to buy vegetables. During this Covid time, the unexpected price hike is really hurting me,” said Bhagyalaxmi Khuntia, a
homemaker.
It is the duty of the government to ensure availability of the kitchen essential at a reasonable price,
she said.
The price of onion stayed at around Rs 50 per kg in the local markets of Bhubaneswar and the outskirts for about one month but it galloped to Rs 80 Wednesday.
Wholesale onion traders in Bhubaneswar said onion crop in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra have been destroyed due to torrential rains.
The retail price of one kg of onion has already reached Rs 80-mark and it is likely to rise further for another three months, said general secretary of All Odisha Traders Association, Sudhakar Panda.
“The wholesale price of the kitchen essential was Rs 4,500 per quintal yesterday (Tuesday). But, today the price stood between Rs 7,000 and Rs 7,500 per quintal. Accordingly, the retail price also increased,” he said.
Since the Centre has removed the bulb from Essential Commodities Act, the price may go up to Rs 100 per kg in coming days, said Panda, adding, “It is high time that the government intervened into the matter and taken steps to ensure that consumers get onion at a reasonable price.”
A wholesale onion trader said that the governments did not pay attention to the plight of farmers, who were struggling to get remunerative price for onion.
The onion prices from February to August were abysmally low. At that time, many traders used to dump the produce in bins as there was an excess.
As a double whammy to the farmers, the Centre imposed a ban on export of onions from India, which were in much demand abroad; the international prices, too, have been affected.
In this scenario, if the government decides to import the item to meet the current shortfall, it would take time and by that time the price here would have breached Rs 100-mark, felt the traders.