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🇳🇵 Nepal /Economy & Trade

Onion prices jump 140 percent in a year as India supply tightens

From Kathmandu Post · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Nepal's onion prices reached Rs110 to Rs140 per kilogram at retail, with wholesale prices up 140 percent from a year earlier.
  • Tighter Indian supplies, crop damage and delayed planting have pushed up prices in India, which supplies almost all of Nepal's onions.
  • Disruptions on Nepal's Prithvi Highway have added pressure by slowing imports from India.

For Kathmandu resident Lalit Chand, onions have become a household expense to ration. He paid Rs140 for a kilogram on Sunday after paying Rs100 the previous week, and told his wife to use them sparingly.

The increase reflects Nepal's dependence on India. Domestic onion production is negligible, so changes in Indian supply and prices quickly reach Nepali kitchens. Retail prices in Nepal now range from Rs110 to Rs140 per kilogram, while onions traded at Rs93.6 per kilogram at the Kalimati wholesale market.

The Kalimati Fruits and Vegetable Market Development Board recorded a 20.77 percent wholesale increase in one week, a 68.65 percent rise in one month and a 140 percent increase over the year. India has also seen a sharp rise, with retail prices in New Delhi reaching about INR65 per kilogram, compared with INR35 a year earlier.

Last week, I bought a kilogram of onions for Rs100 from a local grocery store. Now it has reached Rs140. Every time I go to buy onions, the price has increased.

— Lalit ChandA Kathmandu consumer described the rapid rise in retail onion prices.

India's stored rabi onion crop normally supplies markets after its March and April harvest until around October. This year, unseasonal rain and hail in Maharashtra damaged the late-season crop and reduced the quality of stored onions. The next kharif crop has also been delayed after the monsoon arrived late and pushed back sowing in Maharashtra, India's largest onion-producing state.

Indian Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare blamed black marketing, hoarding and profiteering for the price rise. She said supplies were sufficient for the festive season and that the government was not considering an export ban. In Nepal, Kalimati official Binay Shrestha said most onions enter through the Bhairahawa trade point from Nashik and then move along the Prithvi Highway, which has not fully operated for five days. That disruption has added another obstacle to supply.

Onion price fluctuations depend on the Indian market price, and this time the price has risen in India.

— Binay ShresthaA Kalimati market official explained Nepal's dependence on Indian onion prices.
About this summary

Originally published by Kathmandu Post. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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