After burning a hole in the pocket for a long time, onion prices finally stabilise at Rs 30 per kilo in the retail market, thanks to a bumper produce
The humble onion made us cry for weeks together due to itssky rocketing prices. But traders and consumers can now heave a sigh of relief as onion prices have finally stabilised in the wholesale and retail markets. The reason: a bumper produce that made its way to the Agricultural Produce and Marketing Committee (APMC) Market in Vashi on Saturday morning. As compared to 50-70 trucks of onions, which entered the wholesale market in Navi Mumbai this October, the number has risen to 118 on Friday and 150 on Saturday.
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Traders at the market, who are happy with the scenario, claim they were anticipating the bumper produce. Amit Ladkar, a middleman from the market told SUNDAY MiD DAY, “As the wholesale rates have come down, the retail market has also stabilised to a great extent. Now produce from Nashik, Ahmednagar, Pune and places all over Maharashtra has started coming in abundance. Usually, more produce comes in on Saturday mornings as compared to other days. The Pune APMC is closed on that day, so farmers from nearby villages, whose produce is ready, prefer to send it to Vashi APMC. This way, they ensure their vegetables aren’t wasted.”
On Friday the wholesale rate of onions at APMC was between Rs 17-27 while the retail rate of the commodity was close to Rs 30. Tulsidas Choudhary, a retailer from Vashi market, said, “With onions entering the market in large quantities, the sale of the produce has also increased. Due to the price hike, people, who would usually buy two kilos of the commodity, were compelled to buy only one kilo. However, now with the rates having stabilised, consumers are making the most of it.”