Onion supply to Pune's wholesale market dips to two-month low

PUNE: Onion supply to the wholesale market of the city’s Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) on Wednesday dipped to a two-month low — from an average 10,000-12,000 quintal a day to 6,045 quintal.
This is the lowest supply since September 2 this year, when 5,000-odd quintal onions had arrived in the market. There has been no let-up so far in the increase in retail onion prices.Old onions continued to be sold at Rs80 per kg and the new variety at Rs60 for a kg.

Market sources in APMC said as the wholesale prices have dipped marginally to Rs1,000-5,000 per quintal, many farmers were holding back their stock. The sources added that the situation might take at least a month-and-a half to improve, after which the prices might come down.
An APMC official told TOI that the supply of onions to the market was inadequate because rain has destroyed a major chunk of the produce. “The supply is much less than the demand. The prices will stabilise only when the onions reach the market,” the official said.
Though the rain has stopped, there’s an acute shortage of the produce. On Wednesday, the market received just 6,000-odd quintal of new and old onions. Of this, 60% was old onions and 40% the new variety. “Usually, the new onions should have been at least 70% of the total supply by now,” an APMC official said.
The official said the next new stock would come after the harvest in December or January. The farmers had to replant onions after the standing crops were destroyed in the post-monsoon showers,” he said.
“Onion production has dipped so badly that the prices will come down at the most by Rs15-20 in the wholesale market, once the stocks start coming,” he said.
Another APMC official said, “As the prices have dipped marginally, many farmers are waiting for a better return and are holding back their stocks.”
The sources said the farmers were currently getting around Rs30-35 per kg for new onions.
Swapnil Gore, a wholesaler in the Chakan market, said, “The shortage will become less severe only after January 15 next year. Before that, the prices are bound to remain the same. If at all there is a dip in the wholesale prices, onions will be available in the retail market at Rs10-20 less for a kg than the current rates.”