BELAGAVI
Onion prices are rise sharply in Goa as about 80% of the crop has been destroyed due to heavy rains in the onion growing areas of Maharashtra and North Karnataka region.
According to sources, supplies have been affected so much that only about 30 truckloads of onions arrived in the APMC wholesale market here, of which about 10 trucks were sent to Goa.
“About 80% of onions in the current harvest season have been destroyed due to heavy rains affecting the supplies adversely. Around this time of the year, we expect about 300-plus trucks every Wednesday and Saturday, however, the situation is shocking since last year,” Sambhaji Hongekar of Yogesh traders told The Goan.
Wholesale traders said suppliers to Goa have purchased onions at around Rs 60-70 a kilo, which means onion prices are expected to touch the Rs 100 mark in retail market shortly in Goa.
Onion growing areas from Ahmednagar and Lasalgaon in Nasik district of Maharashtra and areas like Mudhol, Jamkhandi in North Karnataka have received excessive rains since last few weeks resulting in destruction of crop.
Traders fear that onion prices are expected to rise sharply for the next few months, bringing back painful memories of last year when wholesale onion rates had reached Rs 125 a kilo.
