Onion prices skyrocket in city

Aurangabad, Oct 15: Hit by short supply, the price of onions in the city have started to skyrocket. From being available at Rs 20 to Rs 30 per kg a few weeks ago, onions are now being sold at Rs 50 to Rs 65 per kg in the city markets.

Even in the wholesale market, the prices have gone up steadily over the past couple of weeks, and low-quality onion is now sold at Rs 30- Rs 40 per kg.

Depending on the quality, the onion is now being sold for Rs 50 and above. In the retail shops, the prices go up to Rs 65 per kg also. According to market committee authorities, Aurangabad receives onions from Marathwada and Karnataka.

The recent rains have spoilt most of the onion crops across Marathwada and those coming to market for sale are old onions from March-April. These onions have low quality due to being stored for a long time. With the city witnessing a short supply, traders have started to hike the prices at the local markets.

The agriculture produce market committee at Jadhavwadi is seeing an inflow of grade 1 onions that are being sold for Rs 5,500 to Rs 6,000 per quintal while grade 2 was available at Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 per quintal. The damaged onions are also sold at Rs 1,500-2,000 per quintal.

Though second-grade onions were available at Rs 30 to Rs 40 per kg in the retail market, they were in bad shape, and most homemakers were refusing to buy them.