Bhubaneswar: Consumers reeling under onion price crisis may heave a sigh of relief as fresh supply of the bulb vegetable from Egypt have reached the markets in Odisha.
The onions which have been imported in order to meet the shortfall and stabilise the prices, reached the State on Monday. One of the specialities of the imported onions is their bigger size. Some of the onions can even weigh more than-half-a-kilo.
Notably, due to shortage of supply of onions from Nasik, the prices of the vegetable have been skyrocketing in the State for the last two months. The prices of the kitchen essential had even touched Rs 150 to Rs 160 in some places in the State few weeks ago triggering resentment among the consumers.
Now the onion prices are hovering between Rs 80 and Rs 100 and traders are hopeful that the prices will drop further by the turn of New Year.
All Odisha Traders' Associations general secretary Sudhakar Panda said, “There was a delay in the import of the onions. It should have been supplied in the month of September. As onions have been imported from other countries and supply of fresh crops also started from Nasik and other places, I am hopeful that consumers will get onion at Rs 30 to Rs 40 per kg in market from the year end or from the New Year.”
Asked why there was delay in the import of the onions, Panda said, it depends on the decision of the Centre.
“During Kharif, 95 lakh tonnes of onion is imported while 85 lakh tonnes is supplied in Rabi season. However, this year, only 25 lakh tonnes was imported during Kharif season. The government should have taken the steps at the earliest to meet the deficit and had that been done, the prices would not have touched Rs 100,” Panda said.