Tomato prices soar to Rs 80 per kg

 
New Delhi: After onion, retail prices of tomatoes have soared up to Rs 80 per kg in the national capital on lower supplies from Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Mother Dairy, which has about 400 retail outlets in the national capital region, is selling tomatoes at Rs 64 per kg, while local vendors are charging Rs 70-80 per kg.

Last week, tomoato prices were ruling at Rs 40 per kg.

According to traders at Delhi's wholesale mandi at Azadpur, tomato prices have gone up sharply as arrivals from Himachal Pradesh have almost stopped with onset of winter, while supplies from Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra are also low.

Arrival of tomatoes have declined in Delhi to 15-20 trucks against 35-40 trucks before Diwali, they added.

Onion prices have moderated to 60 per kg, down from peak of Rs 100 kg last month.

Potato, onion and tomatoes are the three most common vegetables used in every household.

As per the government data, tomato was being sold at Rs 80 per kg in Port Blair and Rs 70 in Aizwal. It was cheapest Rs 15 per kg in Bhopal. The average for 57 cities was Rs 40 per kg.

Tomato was ruling at Rs 60 per kg in Jammu, Cuttack and Rourkela and Rs 45 in Thiruvananthapuram. The data put price ruling in Delhi at Rs 48 per kg even though retail rates were as high as Rs 80 per kg.

Besides the household demand, the commodity was being sought in greater numbers by manufacturers of tomato ketchup and purees, putting pressure on the prices

Onion prices may ease in a week

Experts say onion prices, which have risen sharply in recent days, will begin softening in a week, provided it does not rain.

Retail rates in the national capital shot back up to Rs 80 a kilo, from Rs 60 earlier this month. The uptrend during the harvesting season was caused by heavy rain associated with Cyclone Phailin.

"This year, excess rains have played spoilsport," says Rajendra Sharma, General Secretary of the Azadpur Mandi Traders Association. "Excess water is an enemy of the onion. This year, harvesting has been affected in states such as Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka due to the downpour that accompanied the cyclone. Prices will come down in the next few days only if there are no rains." Arrivals from the onion-growing states of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka and Maharashtra have been affected.

Sharma said wholesale prices in Delhi have gone up by Rs 10 to Rs 30-45 per kilo over the past week. High onion prices in the country drove inflation based on the wholesale price index (WPI) to a seven-month high of 6.46 per cent in September. In the same month, WPI inflation for onions stood at 322 per cent.

In markets in Maharashtra, the country's biggest onion grower, wholesale prices are hovering around Rs 50 a kilo. However, R.P. Gupta, Director at the National Horticultural Research and Development Foundation in Nashik, said it was only last year's stock that was commanding higher prices. "The old stock is almost exhausted, and the new crop from the kharif season is selling for Rs 30-40 a kilo wholesale. The harvest will only gain momentum, and the price should come down by the month-end." He added that the holding capacity of farmers has gone up with a rise in incomes and they slow down the harvest when prices come down.

India produces about 16 million tonnes of onions a year but consumes only 10 to 11 million. Higher domestic prices had led to the resumption of onion imports after a two-year gap, and onions from countries such as China, Egypt and Pakistan have found their way to Indian markets. Along with stepping up imports, efforts have also been made to discourage exports by raising the minimum export price.

Onion prices decline by about 20 per cent in New Delhi in two weeks

Retail onion prices in the capital have declined by about 20 per cent to Rs 60-65 per kg over the past two weeks.

Onion arrivals in Delhi and in the major markets of Maharashtra, the biggest producer of onions, have been going up in last few days.

In Delhi, the average arrival price for wholesale onion dipped from Rs 5,555 per quintal on September 17 to Rs 3,639 on September 30, a drop of over 34 per cent. The declining trend at the wholesale level is expected to reflect at the retail level with a further drop in prices this month, said a wholesaler at Delhi's Azadpur market.

The harvest of the onion kharif crop has been good in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. In October, arrivals will pick up in Maharashtra and Rajasthan. The two states account for one-third of country's output. October's nine day long Navratri celebrations - when people avoid eating onions - are also likely to lead to a drop in consumption and prices. With a 244 per cent rise in prices in August, onions were instrumental in driving up the August wholesale price inflation to  a six month high of 6.1 per cent.India produces about 16 million tonnes of onion but consumes only 10-11 million tonnes. Higher domestic prices had led to a resumption in imports of onion after a gap of two years and onions from countries like Egypt, China and Pakistan have found a market in India.

Remunerative domestic prices and the imposition of a higher minimum export price have slowed onion exports. In August, onion exports fell sharply to 29,247 tonnes compared to 156,165 tonnes in July and 150,512 tonnes in June. India exported 1.82 million tonnes of onion in 2012/13, valued at Rs 2,295 crore. In the first five months of current fiscal year, exports have only been 697,028 tonnes.

Onions available online for Rs 9 per kilo

New Delhi: High prices are making people shed tears for onions before they are even chopped, but now a website is offering the bulbs at prices as low as Rs 9 per kilogram.

Beginning on Thursday Goupon India, a shopping website, which offers a daily deal on best local goods, services and events has tied up with a Delhi-based wholesaler to deliver onions for the next seven days to customers in 78 cities across the country.

"It is a very simple deal. We are a deal site and in current situation where onions prices are skyrocketing we are offering onions at Rs 9 per kg. The onions will be home delivered to buyers," Ankur Warikoo, CEO, Groupon India said.

The deal is scheduled to be online for the next seven days and customers would be able to get their onions within 10 days of placing their orders.

"We plan to sell 3,000 kilograms of fresh onions per day. This is so that we can ensure the quality of the products. We have tied up with a large onion distributor in Delhi and will be using multiple logistic partners to deliver the onions to customers," Warikoo said.

Onions, packaged in special moisture free wraps would be couriered to buyers by companies like Blue Dart, which is a partner of Groupon. Only registered users of the site would be able to avail the deal with only one deal available per user.

The company says it expects more than 20,000 people to avail of the onion promotion.

"We are fairly confident that people will buy. The offer will last till the onions last," Warikoo said.

Since the last one and half months, retail price of onions have skyrocketed up to Rs 80 per kg in most parts of the country.

Groupon India is part of a 48-country portfolio of Groupon Global spanning 200 million subscribers and over USD 5bn in annual sales.

The site, offers "collective buying power to offer unbeatable prices and provide a win-win for businesses and consumers and delivers over 650 daily deals globally."