While the price of onion was Rs 35 in Bhubaneswar earlier this week, it has increased to Rs 45 to 50 today morning. Similarly, the kitchen essential is sold at Rs 40 in Cuttack, Balasore and Jeypore.
According to traders, short supply from other states has pushed the price up. In Nasik, heavy rain damaged godowns and caused extensive damage to onions. The price of onion has reportedly increased by Rs 2,400 per quintal in Nasik and its impact is affecting the markets in Odisha.
Secretary of Chhatra Bazar Traders’ Association, Debendra Nath Sahu said, “Extremely heavy rainfall has affected onion farming in Nasik. The new crop is yet to arrive. Similarly, the crop was damaged in Kurnool of Andhra Pradesh due to heavy rainfall.”
“The demand of onion is high during festive season. As the import has been affected and demand has gone up, the rate has ultimately increased,” he added.
A vendor at Unit-4 market said, “The price is increasing as rain damaged crop in Nasik. We were selling onion at Rs 25 a kg and now the price hasgone up to Rs 40.”
“I own a hotel and usually buy about 10 kg of onions a day. As the price has increased suddenly, I have to manage with 2-3 kg of onions now,” said a customer.
According to reports, onion and potato have become dearer with the prices reaching up to Rs 50 and Rs 35 per kilogram respectively leaving the consumers teary eyed in the Twin Cities, Rourkela, Balasore, Berhampur and several parts of the State.
“It is affecting our budget in a big way as the prices have been on an upswing since last few days,” said a buyer from Balasore.
Meanwhile, the traders have attributed the price hike to unavailability of stock in the market due to decrease in the import of onion from Nashik and neighbouring West Bengal.
“We procure onions mostly from West Bengal and Maharashtra. The decrease in the import has resulted in the increase of the price of potatoes and onions,” said a trader.
Not only that, the steep rise in prices of other vegetables is like a double whammy to people during the pandemic crisis.
(Edited By Suryakant Jena)
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