MUMBAI: Buying vegetables at a small market on the outskirts of Mumbai, Shubhangi Patil recently raised the prices of everyday essentials ranging from cooking oil to sugar and now onions, a basic ingredient in most Indian cuisine. There has been a rapid increase recently.
With fuel and edible oil prices hitting record highs, consumers like Patil are likely to face further pressure from a rally in the year. onion prices Heavy rains in major growing regions of the country damaged summer crops and delayed sowing of winter crops.
Onion is also a politically sensitive commodity whose price hikes have contributed to the downfall of more than one state government in the past.
“The price of every essential commodity has gone up. Edible oil, sugar prices went up earlier and now onion and tomato prices have more than doubled in a fortnight, how can one manage monthly budget when income is not increasing ?” Patil said.
India is also the world’s largest Onion Traders said exporters and price hikes could prompt New Delhi to restrict shipments, potentially pushing up prices further, especially in Bangladesh, Nepal, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.
“The heavy rains in September led to an attack of the disease and stunted growth of onion bulbs,” says Samadhan Bagul, a farmer in Dhule district, about 325 km north of Mumbai. from its usual five tones.
According to the Meteorological Department, major onion producing states like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka received 268% more rainfall than normal in September.
Crop damage limited supplies, more than doubled wholesale prices in Maharashtra’s Lasalgaon, India’s largest onion trading centre, to Rs 33,400 ($444.82) per tonne in just one month. Retail prices have jumped above Rs 50 per kg in metro areas like Mumbai.
A Mumbai-based dealer said on condition of anonymity that onion prices are likely to remain stable during the ongoing festive season before the moderation starts from mid-January when supplies will pick up from the new season crop.
Ajit Shah, president of the Mumbai-based Onion Exporters Association, said high Indian prices have prompted importing countries to shift to other suppliers such as Turkey and Egypt.
India banned onion exports for a few months in 2019 and 2020 to pacify local prices, leading to onion shortages in neighboring countries such as Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
The government is also trying to reduce food prices this year and has taken measures such as duty cuts to bring down the cost of edible oils.
An onion exporter from Mumbai said, “If the government thinks that onion prices have increased too much and too fast, then India can ban exports as before.”
With fuel and edible oil prices hitting record highs, consumers like Patil are likely to face further pressure from a rally in the year. onion prices Heavy rains in major growing regions of the country damaged summer crops and delayed sowing of winter crops.
Onion is also a politically sensitive commodity whose price hikes have contributed to the downfall of more than one state government in the past.
“The price of every essential commodity has gone up. Edible oil, sugar prices went up earlier and now onion and tomato prices have more than doubled in a fortnight, how can one manage monthly budget when income is not increasing ?” Patil said.
India is also the world’s largest Onion Traders said exporters and price hikes could prompt New Delhi to restrict shipments, potentially pushing up prices further, especially in Bangladesh, Nepal, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.
“The heavy rains in September led to an attack of the disease and stunted growth of onion bulbs,” says Samadhan Bagul, a farmer in Dhule district, about 325 km north of Mumbai. from its usual five tones.
According to the Meteorological Department, major onion producing states like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka received 268% more rainfall than normal in September.
Crop damage limited supplies, more than doubled wholesale prices in Maharashtra’s Lasalgaon, India’s largest onion trading centre, to Rs 33,400 ($444.82) per tonne in just one month. Retail prices have jumped above Rs 50 per kg in metro areas like Mumbai.
A Mumbai-based dealer said on condition of anonymity that onion prices are likely to remain stable during the ongoing festive season before the moderation starts from mid-January when supplies will pick up from the new season crop.
Ajit Shah, president of the Mumbai-based Onion Exporters Association, said high Indian prices have prompted importing countries to shift to other suppliers such as Turkey and Egypt.
India banned onion exports for a few months in 2019 and 2020 to pacify local prices, leading to onion shortages in neighboring countries such as Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
The government is also trying to reduce food prices this year and has taken measures such as duty cuts to bring down the cost of edible oils.
An onion exporter from Mumbai said, “If the government thinks that onion prices have increased too much and too fast, then India can ban exports as before.”
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