Flood Adds Fuel to the Rising Price of Onions

Onion prices are rising and it will soon leave people in tears and troubles. As incessant rains in parts of North Karnataka have hit the standing Kharif crop, wholesale prices have risen over the past fortnight in major markets such as Lasalgaon and Bengaluru. 

According to some trade sources, farmers mainly in Maharashtra, who are aware of the current situation of floods impacting crops in Karnataka, are holding back their produce expecting better prices in the days ahead. 

Lasalgaon which is known as the largest market for onions, the modal prices have moved up by over 40 percent since early August. The increase is over 50 percent over the past one month. 

Jaydutt Holkar, Chairman, Lasalgaon APMC, stressed on the increase of prices. He said that this jump in prices will not last long as in the next 60 days a new crop will start arriving from the fields, which will again bring down prices. 

Maharashtra ranked as the largest producer of onion, while Karnataka has the second largest area under the bulb. Madhya Pradesh comes in the second position as the largest producer of onions, ahead of Karnataka, due to higher yields. 

Saleem Bayhatti, secretary of the Onion Merchants Association in Hubbali, said that Kharif crop in Karnataka has been impacted due to the erratic rainfall pattern. While scanty rains in June and July resulted in lower acreage, the flooding caused by swollen rivers and streams in North Karnataka has hit the standing crop. 

 “About 20 percent of the standing crop could have been hit by floods,” he said.