A vendor sells onions in Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar, June 11: Runaway onion prices are once again threatening to upset middle class budgets.

The price of a kilo of onion in the retail market has gone up by Rs 6 because of poor supply from Maharashtra. From Rs 18-a-kg a week ago, it has climbed to Rs 24-a-kg.

In the Aiginia godown, one of the capital’s wholesale onion marts, the price per quintal was Rs 1,500. It has shot up to Rs 2,000.

“I brought two sacks of onion (one quintal) last night for Rs 2,000, but the traders told me that the prices may rise further as the supply from Nasik had dipped,” said Kartik Nayak, a vegetable vendor in Unit VI area.

Homemaker Rina Parida said: “The state government should assess the situation and if needed regulate the supply and price of onion. Otherwise the situation may go beyond control.”

Market intelligence officer Deepak Satpathy said yesterday the local price was between Rs 1,700 and Rs 1,800 per quintal, but today the price might change.

“Due to nearly 20 per cent onion crop loss, the selling price per quintal in Nasik is between Rs 1,400 and Rs 1,500. So after adding the transportation charge of Rs 400 per quintal and handling charges, the price of the tuber in Bhubaneswar is Rs 1,800 to Rs 1,900. The situation may change a month later when the crop from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka will start coming here,” said an official.

Satpathy, however, added that lack of adequate onion production in the state and over-dependence on Nasik had become a major problem in maintaining the price balance.

Pradyumna Tripathy, former senior scientist with All India National Project on Onion and Garlic (for Odisha) at Chiplima in Sambalpur district, said that the shortage arose in the state again and again due to lack of proper research and seed supply.

Quality onion seeds such as Bhima Super and Bhima Shakti and six others produced by the Directorate of Onion and Garlic Research (DOGR), Pune, are only tested at Chiplima centre under the Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology.

But, not a single variety suitable for the climate in the state has been developed. Moreover, the availability of seeds for the high-yielding onion varieties from DOGR is not being supplied to farmers of the state.

Tripathy said that growing of more onion in the winter (rabi) reason and bringing colder areas like Phulbani and Koraput under the crop coverage may enhance the yield in Odisha.