Onion cheap in wholesale market, but not at your vendor's

Priced between Rs.100 and Rs.80 per kg till Tuesday, the onion was sold at Rs.55 per kg at the Azadpur wholesale market - Asia's biggest wholesale market, Wednesday evening.

"With the ban on onion exports, the prices have dropped in wholesale market," Rajan Sharma, general secretary of the chambers of Azadpur wholesale market, told IANS.

He also attributed the sudden drop to the decrease in demand from the consumers. About 75 percent of the consumers are not getting onion in the market so the stock has piled.

"The supply from other states has increased. It has increased from 800 tonnes to 1,200 tonnes since Tuesday night. This has brought down the wholesale price by Rs.20-30 per kg," Sharma said.

However, the retail price was firmly placed at Rs.80 per kg in Vasant Kunj, South Extension, Greater Kailash, Shanti Niketan areas of Delhi and ranged from Rs.70 to Rs.60 per kg in other areas of the city.

Most of the retail vendors in the capital said the prices will not drop in the near future.

"We will continue to market onion at Rs.80-60 per kg till there is a substantial reduction in onion rates as we have already bought these onions at high prices," said Gurmeet Singh, a retail vegetable vendor.

According to wholesale market sources, with no price control mechanism on retail trade, middlemen across the national capital have taken advantage and shifted the burden to the common man.