Onion, tomato prices steady; garlic dearer in Mumbai

Onion prices held steady today at Rs40-50 a kg in the retail markets of all metros but Chennai, where it continued to be dear, while garlic turned expensive in Mumbai.

Prices of the root vegetable continued to remain high at Rs60/kg in Chennai due to fall in arrival of supplies, traders said, pointing that against a requirement of 10 lorries daily only four lorries arrived in the wholesale market there today.

Onion prices, which quoted at Rs35-40 a kg in early December, had shot up to Rs70-80 per kg across the country owing to damage to the crops from rains in the growing regions of Maharashtra and Karnataka.

In Delhi, wholesale prices of onions rose for the second straight day, climbing by Rs3 a kg in Azadpur mandi -- Asia's biggest wholesale market of fruits & vegetables -- due to fall in arrivals owing to fog, but there was no pass through effect in retail prices.

The wholesale rate at Azadpur ruled at Rs15-43 per kg.

Azadpur market-based Onion Merchants Association general secretary Rajendra Sharma said: "There has been substantial fall in number of vehicles arriving in the market today from Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh."

Only about 350 tonnes of onion reached Azadpur market today against 550 tonnes yesterday, Sharma added.

However, cost of bulk purchase of the vegetable declined by up to Rs 12/kg in Lasalgaon and Pimpalgaon in Nashik district of Maharashtra, the major producing region of the crop in the country.

The wholesale rate of onion in Lasalgaon was 30 per kg against Rs42/kg yesterday while it was Rs40 a kg in Pimpalgaon vis-a-vis Rs 46/kg yesterday, NHRDF (National Horticultural Research and Development Foundation) data said.

While prices of tomato remained steady at Rs25-40 a kg in the big cities, rates of garlic rose by Rs100/kg in Mumbai. Garlic eased by Rs60/kg in Chennai and was unchanged in Delhi and Kolkata at Rs200-300 a kg.

In the national capital, state-run outlets such as Nafed, Kendriya Bhandar and NCCF were selling the edible kitchen bulb at a concessional rate of Rs35 a kg, while Mother Dairy stuck with its old rate of Rs40 per kg.

"There is no no change in prices of onion (at Rs 40/kg) sold from around 300 Mother Dairy outlets in Delhi," sources in the Mother Dairy said.

In Lucknow, the district administration has decided to open 11 outlets in addition to 26 existing stores to sell the edible kitchen bulb at a concessional Rs9-24 a kg, depending on the quality.

"The administration with the cooperation of the fruits and vegetable vendors association has decided to set up 11 more outlets in the city which will sell onion at a cheaper rates," a senior officer said today.