New Delhi: Onion prices held steady on Wednesday at
Rs 40-50 a kg in the retail markets of all metros but Chennai,
where it continued to be dear, while garlic turned expensive
in Mumbai.
Prices of the root vegetable continued to remain high at
Rs 60/kg in Chennai due to fall in arrival of supplies,
traders said, pointing that against a requirement of 10
lorries daily only four lorries arrived in the wholesale
market there on Wednesday.
Onion prices, which quoted at Rs 35-40 a kg in early
December, had shot up to Rs 70-80 per kg across the country
owing to damage to the crops from rains in the growing regions
of Maharashtra and Karnataka.
In Delhi, wholesale prices of onions rose for the second
straight day, climbing by Rs 3 a kg in Azadpur mandi -- Asia`s
biggest wholesale market of fruits & vegetables -- due to fall
in arrivals owing to fog, but there was no pass through effect
in retail prices.
The wholesale rate at Azadpur ruled at Rs 15-43 per kg.
Azadpur market-based Onion Merchants Association General
Secretary Rajendra Sharma said: "There has been substantial
fall in number of vehicles arriving in the market today from
Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh."
Only about 350 tonnes of onion reached Azadpur market
today against 550 tonnes yesterday, Sharma added.
However, cost of bulk purchase of the vegetable declined
by up to Rs 12/kg in Lasalgaon and Pimpalgaon in Nashik
district of Maharashtra, the major producing region of the
crop in the country.
The wholesale rate of onion in Lasalgaon was 30 per kg
against Rs 42/kg yesterday while it was Rs 40 a kg in
Pimpalgaon vis-a-vis Rs 46/kg yesterday, NHRDF (National
Horticultural Research and Development Foundation) data said.
While prices of tomato remained steady at Rs 25-40 a kg
in the big cities, rates of garlic rose by Rs 100/kg in
Mumbai. Garlic eased by Rs 60/kg in Chennai and was unchanged
in Delhi and Kolkata at Rs 200-300 a kg.
In the national capital, state-run outlets such as Nafed,
Kendriya Bhandar and NCCF were selling the edible kitchen bulb
at a concessional rate of Rs 35 a kg, while Mother Dairy stuck
with its old rate of Rs 40 per kg.
"There is no no change in prices of onion (at Rs 40/kg)
sold from around 300 Mother Dairy outlets in Delhi," sources
in the Mother Dairy said.
In Lucknow, the district administration has decided to
open 11 outlets in addition to 26 existing stores to sell the
edible kitchen bulb at a concessional Rs 9-24 a kg, depending
on the quality.
"The administration with the cooperation of the fruits
and vegetable vendors association has decided to set up 11
more outlets in the city which will sell onion at a cheaper
rates," a senior officer said today.
PTI
