Onion prices are likely to ease in the coming weeks as the increase in fresh kharif supplies along with the remaining stocks of old-crop will improve availability of the kitchen staple, people familiar with the matter said.
The expected cooling of retail prices, which at present remain nearly double the last year’s prices, is likely to bring respite to people ahead of the festive season.
The all-India average retail price of onion stood at ₹ 52.99 per kg on October 10, marginally lower than ₹ 53.10 per kg a month ago and significantly higher than ₹ 26.65 a year ago, according to government data. Similarly, wholesale prices averaged ₹ 4,591 per quintal, up 2.4% over the past month and 123.3% from a year earlier. In a statement on October 7, the Centre said it had expanded onion disposal operations to 123 cities and reported that kharif onion acreage was estimated to be 5% higher than last year. The all-India retail price declined just 0.2% over the month, consumer affairs ministry data showed. Selling buffer stock at ₹ 35 a kg through select counters might make for good optics, but it completely ignores market scale, Pareek said.
The Union government has also stepped up its buffer-stock disposal programme to moderate prices. However, the fall in wholesale prices has yet to translate into a meaningful reduction in average retail rates. The intervention, he added, also fails on quality. “Months in humid substandard storage leave buffer onions soft, degraded, and sprouted.
Deepak Pareek, founder of HnyB, said the numbers indicate that the government’s onion stabilisation policy was not working. Everyday shoppers looking for firm, fair-quality bulbs for household cooking will not settle for compromised produce,” Pareek said.
