Bhubaneswar: The price of onions has almost doubled in the past few weeks, forcing the state administration to keep a strict vigil on black marketing and hoarding.
Onions are being sold at around Rs 28 to Rs 30 per kg as against Rs 13 to Rs 15 per kg last week.
Though Odisha produces 3.95 lakh tonnes of onions every year against its requirement of 2.97 lakh tonnes, farmers sell their produce to Chhattisgarh and other states right after the harvest during winter due to lack of storage facility. As a result, the state has to depend on Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh to meets its requirement.
“We are feeling the pinch as the price of onions, which are sourced from the Nashik in Maharashtra, has increased. Lack of storage facilities also influence the onion price in the state,” said food supplies and consumer welfare minister Surya Narayan Patro.
The district-level officials have been asked to keep a strict vigil on the market and curb hoardings, he said.
“Onions are being sold at our fair price shops at ‘no gain- no loss’ basis in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar,” he added.
General secretary of All Odisha Traders Association Sudhakar Panda said the wholesale price of onion in Nashik has gone up to Rs 2,500 per quintal. “On reaching Odisha, the price increases to Rs 2,600 per quintal. The retail price also goes up accordingly. The state government should create storage facilities for stocking the perishable bulb,” he said.
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