New Delhi: Onion prices all over the country have shot up to such a height (from Rs.60 to 80 per kg) that not only consumers but hoteliers are in tears. Onion is among the essential vegetables along with potatoes and tomatoes for every Indian dish used for meals in one form or the other. In Chandigarh, where Panjab and Haryana meet like Siamese twins, the rate is a modest Rs.80 a kg for the rich communities living there.
The shortage of onions could be due to weather conditions of rains and bouts of low pressure in which crops have failed or perished. Either an import of onions or a thorough search in godowns of local merchants can bring out the just relief for common consumers and small hotel keepers in the country as a whole.
Whereas in Chennai down South, Onions can be had for an exorbitant Rs.35 a kg, in Bangalore the same vegetable is sold for about Rs.70 a kg, deterring people from using them. There are people who do not eat Onions or Garlic and such numbers are said to be swelling these days. In North Karnataka, Onion crops are inundated by floods, they say.
In Mumbai, larger crops coming into market have reduced the Onion prices form Rs. 55 to 35 per kg.