TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: As onions continue to burn a hole in the middle class pockets and make bhaji pav dearer, the jury is still out as to when the prices will soften and why the prices shot up so much in the first place.
Onions are an important ingredient in many dishes and with Ramadhan, the demand will only get higher. Agriculturists blame the above average monsoons for the rise in prices.
Officials say that another reason is hoarding and profiteering, but they were quick to express helplessness on how to curb this practice.
Onions are an important export for the country and India is a key supplier to Asian and Gulf countries. Surprisingly abundant rain have curtailed production of onions in some places, inadequate rains in Saurashtra and Maharashtra have led to price hikes.
As compared to last year’s wholesale market price of Rs 10-12 per kg, this year prices crossed Rs 26-28.
The prices at Lasalgaon, the country’s largest wholesale onion market in Maharashtra, rose to Rs 2,411 per 100 kg on Wednesday. This is the highest since January 2011 and the wholesale price has risen about 50 percent in a month on the whole.
Retail prices have more than doubled in cities.
Maharashtra is the country’s top onion producing state.
