The government on Tuesday imposed a minimum export price of US $300 per tonne on onion to curb its exports and help cool rising domestic prices. Onion prices have risen to about Rs 25-30 per kg in the national capital from Rs 15-20 per kg a fortnight ago.
Given that the main Nashik-Lasalgaon mandi has enough onion stocks to last until the end of the year, traders say hoarding and profiteering is the only explanation for the spike in prices.
Sanjay Pingle, one of the largest traders in the Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) at Mumbai's Vashi locality, said, "We have enough onion stocks to last another four or five months. Farmers are holding back produce marginally in the hope of making bigger profits if rates continue to rise. But we are not likely to see prices escalate to absurd lengths this year because PM Modi just announced that the government will crack down on hoarders."
In Kolkata, however, the prices of potatoes, most other vegetables, spices and pulses have only seen a marginal change in the last one month. Onions were the exception, with prices of the staple rising from Rs 22/23 per kg to Rs 28/30 per kg.
The rise in veggie prices has been sharper in Chennai over the last two weeks although groceries have held steady, according to the city's wholesale dealers. Koyambedu Vegetable Market Association advisor V R Soundararajan said the onslaught of summer and low yield of crops were the main reasons for the rise. Wholesale grocery dealers denied that there was any kind of hoarding and said supplies were normal.
In Kerala, experts said heavy summer showers and expectations of a weak monsoon were the reasons for fluctuating prices of vegetables. In Thiruvananthapuram, the price of drumsticks and beans were skyrocketing while those of tomatoes and carrots were tapering. This has been happening over the past three weeks. In Kochi, prices of almost all vegetables — onions, beans, carrots and cabbages — had gone up by Rs 2-4 over the past few weeks. Beans were up to Rs 80/kg, from Rs 68 a month ago. However, the price of potatoes and tomatoes had remained steady.
Similarly, vegetable prices had gone up in Pune, where retailers were charging Rs 25-35 for a kg of onions as against Rs 20 a month ago. Potatoes were selling at Rs 30-35 per kg as against Rs 20-25 in the second week of May. In Jaipur, rising temperatures had reduced the shelf life of vegetables, leading to a price spurt. Onions had become dearer by Rs 10 in a week's time as the city faced shortages due to delay in supplies from Nasik. Potatoes saw a Rs 4-7 rise in the same period.
In Gujarat, prices of onions and potatoes had increased by 15% in the last one week. Potato, which was Rs 14 per kg in the wholesale market on June 9, had jumped to Rs 16, with retailers selling the tuber for Rs 22. Deepak Patel, secretary of the APMC, Ahmedabad, said: "Supply of vegetables has dropped drastically and this has led to a steep increase in prices. This trend is expected to continue for another one month, till the new crop arrives in the market."
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