Onion price may touch Rs 150 per kg in Kolkata, claim traders; kitchen staple rates to stay high till January

Kolkata: Onion prices, which have shot through the roof across the country, could soon touch a new high of Rs 150 per kg in the city markets, traders and analysts said on Tuesday. In most markets of the metropolis, the vegetable is being sold at Rs 110-130 per kg, which is expected to rise to Rs 150 a kg if wholesale prices are any indication, they said. “At Nasik, the highest wholesale rate was Rs 5,400/40 per kg, which translates to Rs 135 a kg,” agri analyst Sibu  Malakar said. [caption id=“attachment_2407016” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Onions will be dear at least till January, when the new crop hits markets in Nasik and Bengaluru, a trader said. In an effort to stabilise prices, the West Bengal government has been selling onions at subsidised rates through ‘Sufal Bangla’ stores and mobile vans. On Tuesday, the edible bulb was sold at Rs 59 a kg at these outlets, officials said. The Centre has already banned onion exports and decided to import 1.2 lakh tonnes, besides imposing stock holding limit on traders. Sources had on Sunday said that state-owned trading firm MMTC, which is importing onion on behalf of the Centre, has placed an order of 11,000 tonnes of the edible bulb from Turkey. Many traders, however, claimed that the vegetable is being illegally exported to neighbouring Bangladesh from the border areas of West Bengal.