Onion shortage to continue

EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

NASHIK, Sept 23: Onion prices in Mumbai are expected to fall sharply by the end of the month with the arrival of the first consignment of 50 to 100 tonnes from Dubai. However, the import is being seen in the market as a cosmetic boost which will only benefit the metros. Market sources, in fact, believe the scarcity will felt for at least a month Talking to Express Newsline, Kalyanrao Patil, Chairman of the Lasalgaon Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) and Shiv Sena MLA from Yeola, said the ideal way to ease the situation in the metros would be to ask NAFED (National Cooperative Agricultural Marketing Federation) to procure onions from various APMCs and distribute them in the cities at controlled prices. He said the import of ``a mere 15,000 tonnes'' would not make a difference as the commodity would be as expensive, the commodity would be of a poor keeping quality (shelf life) and would have a different taste.

Wholesale prices of Lasalgaon today remained at Rs 2,180 per quintal (theaverage being Rs 2,125 per quintal) and fresh arrivals dropping from the normal 700-800 tractor trailorloads (each carrying 30 quintals) to a meagre 170 tractors.

Patil pointed out that though the price level was up to Rs 2,180 per quintal, it was applicable only to the best quality of the crop comprising about 25 per cent of the arrivals. The remaining 75 per cent of the crop was being sold at prices ranging from Rs 400 per quintal onwards, a fair quality being available for Rs 900 per quintal.

On his earlier proposal of entering into an annual agreement with consumer bodies to ensure the supply of onions, he said the offer till stood, provided some consumer bodies took interest in it. He, however, said that since the price fluctuation in the onion market was extreme -- from Rs 250 per quintal to Rs 2,300 per quintal -- the price at which the Lasalgaon APMC would supply onions round the year would be fixed accordingly.

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