City cries over missing onions
Onion has suddenly disappeared from many retail markets in the City. Most vegetable outlets say the bulb is not coming. Even at Kukatpally Rytu Bazaar, onion had not arrived yesterday. Where they are available, the price per kilogram is `32-35. It was `22-26 per kg last month.
Ominous signs of onion going berserk had come from Nashik, a major producing centre, last month when onion prices shot up to `22 a kg from `15 a kg. Alarm bells started ringing in many states. Consequently, hotels have cut down on onion and some are toying with the idea of revising menu rates.
In most retail markets across the country, onion is selling at `35-40 per kg. While agriculture minister Sharad Pawar termed it a temporary phenomenon, National Horticultural Research and Development Foundation attributed the price rise to higher demand and increased cost of production. If this is true, price would continue to rise.
Enquiries with traders reveal that wholesalers are withholding stock to profiteer. While it is true that onion prices have gone up, the sudden shortage is the handiwork of big merchants, retailers say.
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