You will shed tears over onions at least until November

This means that, throughout the festive season — Durga Puja, Diwali and Id, onions will continue to make you cry.

Onion prices will continue to pinch your pocket at least until end-November. This means that, throughout the festive season — Durga Puja, Diwali and Id, onions will continue to make you cry.

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And this will not be limited to our borders.

People in Bangladesh and Malaysia will also bear the brunt since they depend upon India for the bulb.

Dealers and exporters say the price will normalise only after fresh produce comes in from Maharashtra by end-November.

Retail prices in Kolkata hover around R60 to R70 per kg.

“We expect wholesale prices to come down by Rs 14 to Rs 15 per kg by November. Before that, don’t expect miracles,” Debasish Saha, an exporter of onions, said.

Dealers said onion production in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and the other southern states has been hit because of scanty rainfall. Following that, wholesale prices have not come down. The crisis continues.

“In Bangalore, the wholesale price of onions is between R30 and R35 per kg. Around a week ago, it was R60 a kg. In Kolkata, the wholesale price ranges between Rs 44 and R42 a kg,” K Satyanarayan, a dealer, said.

Onion prices had shot up to R80/ kg in retail.

This led to a nationwide uproar and prompted the government to fix the minimum export price at $650 a ton. Exports were curtailed to some degree, which brought down the retail price marginally.