The prices of big onion that were hovering between Rs.90 a kg (top quality) and Rs.70 a kg for medium quality last week, came down to Rs.40 and Rs.35 respectively on Thursday, more than half of the prices that prevailed on December 15 and 17. In the retail market, big onion was sold up to Rs.110 a kg last week. Prices of small onions were oscillating between Rs.45 and Rs.40 a kg owing to destruction of standing onion crop in hundreds of acres.
Unexpected rain shattered big onion production in Karnataka and Maharashtra too, said Rajendran, onion wholesale commission agent. With sharp increase in exports, entire old stock of big onions was completely wiped out. “Yield was massively hit in the district. Farmers, who got 80 bags in one acre last year, could get only 25 bags this year. One farmer had ploughed the onion crops in frustration. Even the price rise did not match yield loss. Wages for agri-labour too shot up to Rs.80 to Rs.100 a day from Rs.50 and Rs.60 last year. Efficiency of single labour too slumped to half. Many abandoned onion cultivation and shifted to other crops,” he added. Huge arrival of small and big onions in January alone would make onion affordable to the public, said Marimuthu, another trader.