The price of onion has seen around 20 percent rise in the last one week. Traders at Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) Vashi say the rise in onion prices will continue till the fresh crops arrive by end of October or November first week in the market.
In the retail market, the price of onion has touched Rs 40 per kg and traders say it will increase upto Rs 50 per kg.
Onion, one of the important ingredients of kitchen has seen a sudden price rise following a dip in supply. It was available at Rs 20 to 25 per kg in the retail market is now being sold at Rs 35 to Rs 40 per kg.
As per the APMC administration, most of the arrival is seen from stocks not from farmers. “Whatever onions are arriving in the market is from the stocks as farmers have already finished the previous crops,” said an official from the APMC administration.
According to traders, since onions are arriving from the stocks (godown), the buying price is around 20 percent higher than earlier. “The minimum buying price is Rs 15 per kg while the maximum goes upto Rs 30 per kg,” said a trader.
Normally, APMC Vashi receives around 140 trucks and tempo laden with onion per day. However, for the last few days, the supply has come down and the number of trucks arriving at the market is around 110 to 120 and this there is a shortfall to meet the requirement. The Vashi APMC supplies essential commodities to the MMR area and a dip in supply affects its prices across the MMR.
As per the data shared by the APMC administration, the supply of onion on September 15 was 7949 quintals which came down to 7001 quintals on September 30.
According to traders, the price of premium quality onion is around Rs 40 per kg. “The market is not receiving all good quality onion. A big part of the arrival is wet onion which will rot very fast and the recovery of the cost will be very difficult for both wholesaler and retailer,” said the trader.
Anish Khan, a vegetable retailer from Vashi said that the quality of onion is not good and it cannot even be stored for a week.
