New Delhi:
Much to the discomfort of consumers, onion prices on Wednesday touched Rs 80 per kg in most retail markets in the national capital despite normal supply in the wholesale markets.
Wholesale price of onion have increased by Rs five to Rs 50-55 per kg in Azadpur mandi, according to the Onion Merchant Traders Association.
Onion supply to the city, which comes from Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, is normal at 12,000 quintals in Azadpur, Asia's largest wholesale market, it added.
At Mother Dairy outlets, onions are being sold at Rs 55-60 per kg, while local vendors are selling it at 70-80 per kg depending upon the quality and location.
Onion Merchant Traders Association President Surendra Budhiraj attributed the rise in wholesale price of onion in Delhi to increase in prices of the bulb crop in Maharashtra, the country's largest onion producing state.
At Lasalgaon in Nashik, prices rose slightly to Rs 46 per kg on Wednesday from Rs 45 a kg even as supplies remained normal, National Horticultural Research and Development Foundation (NHRDF) Director R P Gupta told PTI.
Prices are expected to cool down in the first week of September once supplies from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka increases, he added.
India has exported 6.39 lakh tonnes during April-July period of this fiscal compared with 6.94 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period. Production stood at 16.6 million tonnes in 2012-13.