Lasalgaon onion prices climb 7% while shoppers pay ₹60-70/kg
Onion prices at Lasalgaon, Maharashtra's benchmark Lasalgaon wholesale market, just jumped 7% after last week's over 9% fall, now averaging ₹40 per kg.
Even with this rise, shoppers are still paying ₹60 to ₹70 per kg thanks to delayed harvests and quality issues with older stock.
Farmers, who've had a tough couple of years, are hoping this helps them recover some losses.
Slow buffer releases keep prices high
Government buffer stock sales have cooled onion prices in cities like Delhi and Varanasi, but slow releases and tepid exports (due to various challenges like freight and some buyers shifting to China) mean prices stay high elsewhere.
Lasalgaon has seen steady arrivals but many farmers are still dealing with weight loss and poor quality in their stored onions.
As Jaydatta Holkar, director of Lasalgaon APMC, put it: Prices have doubled in the last four to five months, so any government price controls could make things tricky for growers.