Onions from Alwar hit ₹110 per kg as rain sends supply tumbling in Chandigarh

Onion prices at apni mandis, which had come down to ₹90 per kg for the Alwar variant, and ₹70 per kg for those imported from Afghanistan and Turkey, have become dearer by ₹20 each, following the rain last week.

With supply trucks getting stranded due to the downpour on December 13 and 14, the onion from Rajasthan’s Alwar has hit an all-time high of ₹110 per kg, a price that the Nashik variant was fetching in November before its supply ran out.

As per Punjab Mandi Board officials, Alwar onion was almost ₹20 cheaper than that from Nashik.

When the latter’s price had reached ₹70 per kg in November, the Alwar variety was available for ₹50 per kg. But as it was inferior in quality, customers still preferred Nashik onion, despite its higher price tag.

However, due to the rains in North India last week, supply had been affected. Several trucks were stranded due to the hailstorms in Rajasthan, delaying arrival of fresh stocks in the city. This further caused the vegetable’s number to dwindle at the wholesale market in Sector 26.

Officials said the wholesale price of the Alwar onion has touched ₹100 per kg here as well.

President of the apni mandis in Chandigarh, Parlad Singh, said, “Now that the weather has improved, normal supply will resume in a few days and prices will drop soon. However, the prices can continue to increase till then.”

BL Sharma, general secretary of the Chandigarh Transport Association, said the new crop of onions from Nashik will reach the city by the first week of January, and will significantly help bring down the onion rates.

FEW TAKERS FOR AFGHANISTAN ONION

Singh said though the onion from Afghanistan was cheaper than the Alwar variety, it hadn’t caught the customers’ fancy. “Though their size, which can cross 250gm per onion bulb, captures the buyers’ attention, they are useless in domestic use,” he added.

On the other hand, the Turkish variant was smaller in size and considerably better in quality, and was thus being chosen by customers.

POTATO PRICES ALSO HEAD NORTH

Even though the monsoon rain had majorly affected the prices of only onions and tomatoes, the cost of potato, which was ₹10 per kg till November 30, has shot up by 200% to ₹30 per kg.

Singh said, “The monsoon rain had destroyed the fields of several farmers near Jalandhar, damaging the potato crop. The recent rains have also harmed the local crop. The only supply still in place is coming from Sirhind. The vegetable may become even more expensive if the local crop isn’t ready soon.”