Onion prices fall by Rs 10

Onion prices on Thursday eased by Rs 10 to quote at Rs 60-70 a kg in the metropolitan cities of Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai, owing to an up to 52 per cent fall in wholesale prices in last three days following steps unveiled by the Centre to boost domestic supply.

According to reports from across the country, retail onion prices fell in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai by Rs 10 per kg.

In Kolkata, it was already Rs 60 a kg. In the national capital, the government is selling onion at Rs 40 per kg through retail outlets of Nafed, Mother Dairy and National Consumer Co-operative Federation to provide some relief to the common man from the skyrocketing prices that shot up to Rs 80 per kg earlier this week.

With government banning exports and allowing duty-free imports, the wholesale rates of onions have fallen by up to 52 per cent in Lasalgaon and Pimpalgaon in Nashik district of Maharashtra, which along with Karnataka accounts for 40 per cent of the country's overall onion production.

According to data compiled by National Horticultural Research and Development Foundation (NHRDF), onion prices fell by 37 per cent in Lasalgaon to Rs 4,000 per quintal today from Rs 6,299 on December 20.

In Pimpalgaon, the fall was by 52 per cent to Rs 3,031 per quintal from Rs 6,273 a quintal in the review period. In the Delhi's Azadpur market, wholesale prices have declined by about 40 per cent in last three days and stood at Rs 35-40 per kg depending upon the variety.

"Supply of onions increased by 300 tonnes today as compared to yesterday's 900 tonnes," Delhi Agricultural Marketing Board Chairman Braham Yadav told PTI. Consumer Affairs Secretary Rajiv Aggarwal had on Wednesday said that wholesale prices have started declining and it would get reflected in retail prices in a couple of days. Meanwhile, according to data compiled by Ministry of Consumer Affairs, the average retail price of onion stood at Rs 51.4 per kg, a three per cent rise from Wednesday's Rs 49.97 per kg.

Compared with Monday's rates, the government data showed that prices have softened to Rs 60 from Rs 64 per kg in Delhi, while in Kolkata it eased to Rs 50 from Rs 55 per kg. Rates remained stable in Mumbai and Chennai, according to Consumer Affairs Ministry, which maintains daily retail price data of 21 essential commodities in 50 major cities across the country.

The highest price was reported from Mumbai at Rs 72 per kg, followed by Tiruchirapalli and Itanagar at Rs 70 per kg.