Onion prices in Maharashtra are plummeting following a bumper arrival of early kharif crop onions. Arrivals are said to be three times larger than they were last year. By end of trading on Wednesday, the price fell as low as ₹200 (€2.46) per 100 kg and the modal price to ₹430 (€5.29) per 100 kg.
At the Lasalgaon wholesale market, which serves as the benchmark for onion prices across the country, prices have ranged between ₹200 and ₹500 per 100 kg over the past month.
This price dip is attributed to a deluge of the Rangda onion, also known as the ‘wrestler onion’ for its large size and high water content. “The Rangda onion, which gets planted by October and is harvested in 100 days, has arrived in large quantities; such a situation hasn’t been witnessed in the past 10-12 years,” he said.
Onion glut
In the year gone by, Maharashtra has faced an oversupply of the kitchen staple due to excessive holding of kharif onions or Gavthi onions, which have a longer shelf-life and usually arrive by March. In 2018, there was a massive storage of such onions. Farmers retained their stock for over six months in the expectation that prices would rise. But they never did, and by December, panic-stricken farmers literally dumped the onions.
