Onion prices have increased to Rs 40 per kg in the retail markets in the Capital due to two-and-half year high rates in the Maharashtra's wholesale market on account of tight supply. At Mother Dairy's Safal outlets, which has more than 400 stores in the Capital, onions are being sold at Rs 36-37 per kg while local vendors are charging Rs 40 per kg. Onion was available at Rs 20 per kg a month ago. The Azadpur Mandi's Onion Merchant Traders Association president Surendra Budhiraj said wholesale rates in Delhi increased to Rs 22-27 per kg since last one week as supply from Madhya Pradesh has come down substantially due to rains.

 

Meanwhile, rates at Lasalgoan — the Asia's biggest wholesale market for onion — today rose marginally to Rs 24.50 per kg from Rs 24.11 per kg yesterday even though arrivals were higher. The rates are almost five times higher than that at the same time last year, stoking fears of retail prices rocketing across the country. "Onion prices are at present around Rs 2,200-2,300 per  quintal in the Lasalgaon mandi, but the prices are expected to rise in coming days as stocks of onion have come down to 3-4 lakh tonne from the level of 10 lakh tonnes same time last year," the National Horticultural Research and Development Foundation (NHRDF) managing committee member CB Holkar said.

 

The new crop is expected from Tamil Nadu and Andhra in September but prices would ease after new crop from Karnataka arrives in the market in October, he added. Wholesale onion price, a politically sensitive commodity, in Lasalgaon had reached this level and even higher up to Rs 38 a kg during December 2010-January 2011. Retail prices had then skyrocketed to about Rs 100 per kg across the country, forcing government to curb exports.