Wholesale onion prices have started easing in Nashik after remaining high for nearly a month, with fresh arrivals from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh lowering pressure on rates at Lasalgaon, the country’s largest onion market.
In early September, good-quality onions were selling wholesale at around ₹ 55 per kg at Lasalgaon, while inferior-quality onions fetched around ₹ 45 per kg. The rates have since fallen to about ₹ 46 per kg for good-quality onions and ₹ 35 per kg for inferior-quality produce, according to Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) officials. Wholesale prices in Karnataka mandis currently range between ₹ 35 and ₹ 51 per kg, depending on quality. Daily arrivals at Lasalgaon are currently around 6,000 quintals, traders said. Despite the fall in wholesale prices, retail rates for good-quality onions continue to remain high at around ₹ 65 per kg. “The retail price is on the higher side since nearly 20-30% of the onions that traders buy for retail sale are damaged.
Pravin Kadam, director, Lasalgaon APMC, said the decline in prices was largely due to increased onion availability from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Because of damage, kadam attributed the gap between wholesale and retail prices partly to wastage at the retail level, saying traders typically incur losses on 20-30% of the onions purchased for retail sale. “Demand for Nashik onions in the hotel industry is higher than for onions from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The kharif onion harvest in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh began in late August. They expect some farmers who had held back their produce in anticipation of higher prices to release their stocks if they fear a further decline, potentially putting additional pressure on wholesale rates.
However, Kadam said demand for Nashik onions from the hotel industry remained strong and ruled out a significant further decline in prices at Lasalgaon. I do not foresee further easing of wholesale prices at Lasalgaon,” Kadam said. Nashik-based onion exporter Vikas Singh said export demand for onions from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh was currently higher than for Nashik onions, as overseas buyers prefer the newly harvested produce. “Since the onions from these two states are new, overseas buyers are keen to purchase them,” Singh said. Onions have also been imported from Egypt, which has affected wholesale prices at Lasalgaon, officials said. Unless they sell the produce at a proper price, they will incur losses,” Kadam said.
