Indories prefer local over imported onions

Indories prefer local over imported onions

MANISH UPADHYAYUpdated: Saturday, December 21, 2019, 09:01 PM IST
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Workers off-loading imported onion at local Choithram mandi. |

Indore: When it comes to onions, the Indories love the homegrown variety over the imported ones. Even though the imported onions are less expensive when compared to the local ones, the Indori is willing to pay the premium, and the traders who are importing onions are sending them to surrounding districts.

Says Amrit Agrawal, member, Onion-Potato Commission Agents’ Association, “It is true that locals prefer the homegrown variety of onions over the imported ones and are willing to pay a premium for it.”

According to traders, there are two major reasons for this preference. One is the taste and the other is the size. The imported onion does not suit the taste buds of the local consumer who find it bland. Also, the size of imported onions range from 250 gm to 850 gm, while the local consumer prefers medium-sized onions weighing between 100 to 150 grams, because an onion once peeled has to be used, otherwise, it becomes stale very quickly.

According to traders, earlier the price of imported onion was around Rs 75 to Rs 80 per kg, but now it’s hovering between Rs 55 to Rs 60 per kg, while earlier the rates of homegrown onion ranged from Rs 70 to Rs 120 per kg, now they are being sold at around Rs 70 to Rs 75 per kg.

Usually, onion comes to Indore from within 250 km radius – from Khandwa, Rajpur (Barwani) in Madhya Pradesh and Jalgaon and Dhulia from Maharasthra. But this year, due to excessive rainfall there has been massive crop damage and the government has been forced to import onion. Imported onion started reaching the Indore market from the second week of December from Afghanistan via Wagha Border and Turkey from Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) Mumbai.

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