The end of Navratri holidays left Indians lachrymose not only because the days of joy and celebration marked a culmination but also because they switched to their earlier food choices with inflated onion prices.
It is common that onions bring tears while chopping, but while buying, it is a rare sight.
Onion is an essential ingredient in Northern palates. Not only does it enhance the taste of dishes, but often plays a part in salads or side dishes. These onions, once relished with chutney in Chole Bhature or Tikkis or sprinkled with lemon on Pav Bhaji, are increasingly becoming the reason for bland taste because either small-shop owners are saving on the quantity served or total abstention. These street vendors are left with no choice but to transfer the input costs to customers.
Onions are slowly witnessing their existence in danger on the plates of a middle or lower-middle-class person, thanks to lurching price hikes and squeezing purses. The pinch of pricey onions is putting homemakers in a spot – which to prioritize – taste buds or squeezing salary budget. Allocating funds has become a task in the face of the flight of onion prices.
Onion is a day-to-day item. Therefore, any rise in price affects the budget of a family who has to survive on a stipulated, set monthly income. If it were a one-time purchase item, calling pricey onions a burden on every month’s budget would be unjustified.
In Delhi and its NCR region, onions have a retail price of a maximum of Rs 80, which can shoot up to Rs 100 in the first week of November. Two weeks ago, onions were available at a rate swinging between Rs 30-40.
These onions are now available at E-commerce platforms such as Bigbasket at Rs 80 per kg on Sunday and Otopy and Blinkit at ₹75 per kg.
India’s capital shares its plight with states like Maharashtra and Telangana, where uncovering each layer of onion reminds of their price.
Congress Attack On Those Who Say “ I Don’t Eat Onions”
President of the Indian National Congress- Mallikarjun Kharge- questioned the ruling party’s hogwash on inflation. The opposition has found a piece of evidence against those Ministers who often are found mocking inflation or poverty in India.
In a post in Hindi on X on Sunday morning, Mr. Kharge said people’s cries, under the burden of inflation in the last nine-and-a-half years of the BJP government, can be heard.
“…every time on the issue of inflation, the Modi government has made fun of the public and teased it like this – ‘Inflation is not visible’; ‘I don’t eat onions’; ‘It is better than other countries’,” Mr. Kharge said.
“Why is onion expensive again? Now, the people of five States will tell the secret of it by defeating the BJP!” the Congress chief said
साढ़े नौ सालों में भाजपाई महंगाई के बोझ तले दबी जनता की रोती-बिलखती आवाज़,
… हर बार महंगाई के मुद्दे पर, मोदी सरकार ने जनता का मखौल उड़ा, कुछ इस तरह छेड़ा साज़ —
🧅 “महंगाई दिखती ही नहीं”
🧅 “मैं प्याज़ खाती नहीं”
🧅 “बाक़ी देशों से तो बेहतर है”
भला क्यों हुआ फ़िर से… pic.twitter.com/Zj8FNdt9d7
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) October 29, 2023
Would Government Actions Provide Some “Instant” Relief Against Pricey Onions?
Delay in kharif onion sowing due to weather disturbances resulted in less coverage and late arrival of the crop. An imbalance in the fulcrum of demand and supply forces consequently increased the onion prices.
The government on October 28 imposed a minimum export price (MEP) of $800 a tonne on onion exports till December 31 this year in an attempt to rein in pricing and boost vegetable availability.
“Exports of onions are free. MEP of $800 FOB (free on board) per tonne is imposed till December 31, 2023,” the Directorate General of Foreign Trade said in a notification.
Onion prices across India have seen a spike of more than 50 percent on average. To bring the situation under control, the Centre on October 27 decided to increase the sale of buffer onions at a subsidized rate in retail markets. However, such steps serve less effectiveness in an instant.
In retail markets, buffer onions will be sold through two cooperative bodies- NCCF and NAFED outlets and vehicles, at a subsidized rate of Rs 25 per kg. In Delhi too, buffer onions are sold at this subsidized rate.
As per the business news website- Moneycontrol, keeping in view the upcoming festive season and demand for onions, the government will release fresh stock to retail markets as Diwali approaches, aiming to tame price hikes.
The data from the Department of Consumer Affairs shows the average wholesale price of onions rose to Rs 3,112.6 per quintal as of October 26 from Rs 2,506.62 per quintal on October 1, almost Rs 600.
The central government had earlier maintained the stock of 3 lakh tonnes of onions in the 2023-24 season as buffer stock that later increased to 5 lakh tonnes after prices rose in August.
Now, with a further spike in onion prices, the government is planning to bolster the buffer stock to 7 lakh tonnes.
The government, in fact, imposed an export duty of 40 percent on onion export on August 20 to limit onion inflation. However, within one month, prices shot up to Rs 80 a kg.
Although the buffer stock has been made available to the government, the deceleration in inflation will come with time. Expectations for a quick relief would be an eyewash given the delay in Kharif crop arrival and the festive season.
Diwali, one of the biggest festivals in India, which often provide seasonal employment to many and boost the sulk-down economy, is waiting to witness prices of onion go higher.
Although the government is ready with the buffer stock, how much relief it provides to the common man will be unveiled in an observation of a month. Experts say the taming of prices could be seen in December when a sufficient stock of Kharif crop would be available. Until then, people have to prepare themselves for the festive season with a presumption that this Diwali can cost them an arm and a leg.