KURNOOL: Heavy rains in the last four months in Maharashtra and Karnataka have damaged onion crop raised in Kurnool district. This, coupled with the reduction in its production in the district, has led to the massive increase in the demand of Kurnool onion in the entire country.
On Wednesday, Kurnool onion came to its highest rate in the last five years as it was sold at Rs 6,700 per quintal in the Kurnool market yard.
Even as the price of the vegetable has gone through the roof, retailers are trying to cash in on the opportunity by selling onion at Rs 100 per kg. “They (retail stores) are creating a shortage in the market by claiming that the supply of onion at the Kurnool Agricultural Market Yard has reduced significantly,” consumers alleged.
“The wholesale price of onion in the market yard was Rs 6,700 per quintal on Wednesday. The retailers are trying to get a profit margin of 50 per cent. Generally, as many as 10,000 quintals arrive in the yard every November. However, this season we have just received less than 4,000 quintals in the past few days,” Kurnool Market Yard secretary R Vijaya Lakshmi said.
She feared that the rate might increase further in the coming days. “Of the total arrivals, just 20 per cent are used in local markets. The remaining are sent to Odisha, Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal and others.” Horticulture Department Assistant Director Raghunath Reddy said the crop was sown in nearly 26,000 hectares in the district this Kharif season, which was a significant drop from the last season’s 30,000 hectares.
“As many as 45 lakh quintals of onion is available for this Kharif season. At least 10 per cent of the crop has been damaged due to heavy rains,” the official added. A wholesale vegetable vendor P Hanumantharao Chowdary said onion has entered the race of cash crops, with its prices soaring.