Bengaluru: The pungent bulbs that add flavour to almost every kitchen are making consumers cry again — this time over their prices.With the festive season under way, households may have to keep a check on onion consumption as prices are expected to rise amid inadequate rainfall and crop disease. Onion growers have reported losses of up to 40%, affecting supplies and pushing prices higher.As of Friday, onions were selling at Rs 45-50 per kg in wholesale markets, while retail prices stood at Rs 55-60 per kg.The city sources much of its onion supply from the state’s central and northern districts, which account for the bulk of Karnataka’s onion cultivation, followed by Chikkaballapur. According to the association, nearly 90% of the state’s onion cultivation is concentrated in these regions, with Karnataka having around 25 lakh onion growers.An onion trader from Banashankari said, “Onion prices have risen from Rs 40 to Rs 55 and then Rs 60 per kg in the past 20 days due to a shortage of stock. The places we source onions from have reported a decline in production because of inadequate rainfall. We don’t know when prices will come down.”Ravi Shankar, secretary of the Potato and Onion Merchants Association, said: “Prices have recently increased to Rs 45-46 per kg in the wholesale market. Even second-quality produce is currently selling for around Rs 50 per kg.”He added, “Production has declined due to inadequate rainfall, resulting in a shortage of the new crop. Farmers with borewells have reported good yields, while those dependent on rainfall have suffered crop losses. Only around 40% of the expected crop is likely to be available now, with the remaining supply potentially delayed by a month. Maharashtra, meanwhile, has both a new crop and some stored summer produce. If arrivals improve, onion prices are expected to return to normal within one-and-a-half months.”Heat, water shortage hit cultivationOnion farmers in Karnataka are staring at a difficult season, with prolonged heat and inadequate water availability affecting both the area under cultivation and the quality of the crop.NM Siddesh Uttangi, state president of Karnataka State Onion Farmers Association, said, “Onion is largely a rain-dependent crop, and the lack of rainfall this year has severely affected cultivation. Farmers are now relying on drip irrigation, which alone costs Rs 70,000-80,000 per acre. The heat has also caused the bulbs to melt, resulting in smaller onions and significantly lower yields.”The impact has been particularly visible in Vijayanagara, where the area under onion cultivation has fallen from around 25,000 to 12,000-13,000 acres this year because of water scarcity.Farmers said the crop was sown towards the end of May, but intense heat affected the bulbs during the growing period. An acre that would normally produce 75-80 quintals is yielding only around 25-30 quintals this season.As of Friday, the APMC market had recorded arrivals of 50,194 bags of onions in more than 250 trucks, with supplies coming mainly from Maharashtra and Vijayapura in Karnataka. Maharashtra onions were quoted at Rs 2,000-4,600 per 100 kg, depending on size and quality, while Vijayapura onions fetched Rs 3,500-4,000. New stood at more than 13,000 bags, with prices ranging from Rs 1,600 to Rs 4,500 per 100 kg. Sales of average-quality onions remained slow.
