Retail onion prices up by Rs 5-10/kg on Pak export ban reports

Retail prices of the premium quality onion rose maximum in Mumbai by Rs 10 to Rs 65 per kg, while in Delhi and Chennai by Rs 5 each to Rs 65 per kg. In Kolkata too, prices rose by Rs 5 to Rs 55 per kg, according to the reports from these centres.

"Retailers have jacked up the prices of onions on reports of the ban on export by Pakistan," said Rajendra Sharma, General Secretary of the Tomato and Onion Merchants' Association in Azadpur mandi in the national capital.

The wholesale prices in Delhi's Azadpur market have remained unchanged at Rs 45 per kg for last two days, but retail prices are soaring, he said. Pakistan banned the export of onion to India to control inflation in its own country. About 300 tonnes of onions contracted by state-run STC are stuck at the Wagah border.

According to the data maintained by the National Horticultural Research and Development Foundation (NHRDF), wholesale prices of onions in Mumbai were unchanged at Rs 45 per kg. In Kolkata, prices rather declined by Rs 5 to Rs 50 per kg.

But in Chennai, the wholesale price of the commodity increased by Rs 9 to Rs 64 per kg today, the data showed. Retail prices of onion had touched the peak of Rs 70-85 per kg on December 22 due to crop damage in key growing states Maharasthra and Karnataka.

As a result, the country's onion production is likely to dip by 12.5 per cent to 10.5 million tonnes this year, against 12 million tonnes last year, according to NHRDF.