The onion wholesale prices at the Lasalgaon Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC ) have gone up between 15% and 20% in the last 10 days on account of lower market arrivals. On Wednesday, modal prices of onions at Lasalgaon touched Rs 3,600 per 100 kgs with minimum prices at Rs 1,400 per 100 kgs and maximum prices at Rs 3,871 per 100 kgs – the highest maximum price so far this season.
Prices were similar on Tuesday with similar arrivals at around 675 tons. On Monday, market arrivals were almost double at 1,196 tons because of the opening of the market after the weekend. The situation is similar at the neighboring Pimpalgaon Baswant APMC with average prices at Rs 3,200 per 100 kgs and arrivals at 672 tons on Wednesday.
Traders attribute the price rise to fall in supplies. “Arrivals of late kharif crop is almost exhausted. The unseasonal rains in January also damaged part of the crop and as a result, farmers ended up bringing all their onions at once, instead of bringing in staggered supplies,” one onion trader told financialexpress.com.
Suvarna Jagtap, chairperson of the Lasalgaon APMC, explained that there has been a dip in arrivals from South Indian markets and supplies from Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh are not enough.
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