On Saturday 30 January onion prices at the country's largest wholesale onion market at Lasalgaon Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) recorded a nine-month low of Rs 950 per quintal due to an excess of supply in comparison with demand.
Earlier, the previous average low of Rs 950 had been recorded on April 17 last year.
The average wholesale onion prices at Lasalgaon APMC declined by 15 per cent to Rs 950 per quintal on Saturday, against Rs 1,100 per quintal on Friday.
Speaking to Times of India, an official from Lasalgaon APMC said, "The onions arriving in the market are from the kharif crop. The harvest of kharif crops is in full swing which has led to a rise in the arrivals of onions at the market. This is the reason the onion prices have declined from Rs 2,300 per quintal in November to Rs 950 per quintal today."
The minimum and maximum prices at Lasalgaon were recorded at Rs 500 and Rs 1,282 per quintal on Saturday. Around 15,000 quintals of onions were auctioned at Lasalgaon on Saturday.
The average wholesale onion prices had skyrocketed to an all time high of Rs 5,700 per quintal on August 22 due to the scarcity of onions. The onion prices in the retail markets of Mumbai and Delhi had touched Rs 100 per kg in the last week of August, while they reached Rs 80 per kg in Nashik's retail market. But the prices reversed after the arrival of the Kharif crop increased from November onwards.
