Immediately after Deepavali in 2019, the price of onions started increasing. The price level kept increasing from ₹30 a kg, with a sudden jump at ₹100, followed by an incredible hike at ₹240 a kg by December. However, the price hovered around ₹140 a kg all through the month.
For the last two days, onions are being made available at several retail shops at ₹70 a kg. Unlike the previous months, the product is considerably good, offering satisfactory shelf life. It was widely expected that the price would not come down till Sankranti festivities are over. This sudden development came as a big breather to the consumers, a week prior to Sankranti.
For the last three months, the Chittoor district remained the worst hit compared to all other districts of the State, with insufficient supply of stocks.
Assistant Director (Marketing) P. Gopi told The Hindu that the price of onions would further come down immediately after Sankranti. “The main reason for sudden plummeting of onion prices in the retail markets is the ban imposed on export of certain varieties of onions by the Centre. This has led to diversion of produce to the domestic market at ₹50 a kg, particularly in Rayalaseema region,” he said.
The official said that in a span of three months, the district administration had supplied about 400 metric tonnes of onions. “In recent weeks, we sold the highly subsidised onions (imported from Egypt) at ₹25 a kg, and the Krishnapuram variety (of Kadapa district) at ₹15 a kg,” he said.
Regarding the Krishnapuram variety, the government had purchased the stock at ₹50 a kg, and selling it to consumers at ₹15 a kg, following protests from farmers about the ban on exports. To some extent, the stocks from Karnataka and Maharashtra had also started coming in good quantities.
Lakshmi, a woman farmer of Vijayapuram mandal, summed up the present scenario of the vegetable market. “After a long gap, people are thronging markets and roadside vegetable shops with interest. All prime vegetables are now available at a price range between ₹30 and 40 a kg. Now that the onion price is also coming down, it will just mean happy days,” she said.
