After tomatoes, onions become dearer as wholesale price soars to Rs 25/kg

New Delhi: Onion prices on Thursday rose more than two-fold to Rs 25 per kg at Lasalgaon in Maharasthra, Asia's largest wholesale market for bulb crop, due to tight supply of old stock and likely fall in output of the new kharif crop.

Maximum wholesale onion prices stood at Rs 9.20/kg in the year-ago period in the same market, as per the data maintained by a government research body NHRDF.

Lasalgaon sets price trend for other mandis across India.

Already, retail rates have inched up in the national capital, ruling in the range of Rs 30-35 per kg on Thursday.

Nasik-based National Horticultural Research and Development Foundation (NHRDF) Director P K Gupta said: "There is tight supply situation".

The existing demand is met through old rabi stocks, which has started depleting, owing to exports and limited supplies from Madhya Pradesh in view of state government buying, he said.

That apart, new crop from kharif season of 2017-18 is also expected to be less, as acreage is seen down by 30-40 per cent in states, especially in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra due to less and late rains besides low prices ruling at the time of sowing.

The arrival of early kharif crop has begun in Andhra Pradesh. But, the full swing arrival of kharif crop would begin from September onwards. Till then, the pressure on availability and prices would continue, agri-experts added.

About 30-40 per cent of the country's total production comes from the Kharif season and the rest from rabi season.