Onion prices fall at Vashi Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee for a day

The Vashi Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) had an additional intake of onions on Monday, bringing the price down to Rs25 per kg.

Till Sunday, onion prices were about Rs35 per kg.

This was an indirect result of onion traders in Nashik deciding not to buy the produce from APMCs in Nashik district.

As onions are perishable, onion growers got their produce to the Vashi APMC. As a result, the supply there was more than usual.

“Usually, we receive around 70 to 80 trucks of onions every day. But today, as the onion traders from other parts were on strike, we received around 170 trucks. This resulted in a dip in onion prices by about 10-15% in the market,” said Ashok Walunj, director, APMC.

He added that since the strike has been called off, the prices will rise once again from Tuesday. They are expected to drop only in February.

Changdev Holkar of the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited (NAFED) said that it is impossible for traders to sell onions for less than Rs30 per kg — the price which the government had asked for.

“It will take a month for  prices to drop. Onions could be available for Rs25-30 per kg by February,” said Holkar.