By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, August 7, 2017: Close on the heels of a surge in prices of tomatoes, the price of onions has doubled in Odisha’s wholesale and retail markets in the last 10 days.

The state administration has asked district collectors to keep a strict vigil on black marketing and hoarding. But there is no respite to consumers as onion price rise continues unabated

While onions used to be sold anywhere between Rs 13 and Rs 15 per kilogram last week, they are being sold at around Rs 28 to Rs 30 per kilogram in the markets now.

Even Onion traders are also feeling the pinch of price rise. “People were usually buying 4-5 kg but now they have limited it to 1-2 kg,” said a trader.

Odisha produces 3.95 lakh tonnes of onions every year against its requirement of 2.97 lakh tonnes, officials said here.

But farmers, who grow onions in the winter season in the state, sell their crop to Chhattisgarh and other states right after the harvest due to lack of storage facility. In the subsequent months, the state has to depend on Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh to meets its requirement.

“We don’t have onion. From where do we get for the consumers? Meanwhile, we have directed all the districts to buy onion from wholesalers and sell it at the fair price shops,” said Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare minister Surya Narayan Patro.

The minister also made it clear that with the price of onions, which are sourced from the Nashik market in Maharashtra, increasing, the consumers are feeling the pinch.

General secretary of All Odisha Traders Association Sudhakar Panda said the wholesale price of onion in Nashik has gone up to Rs 2,500 per quintal.

“The lack of storage facilities also impacted the onion price in the state,” Patro admitted.

“When the goods reach Odisha, it comes to Rs 2,600 per quintal. So, the retail price also goes up accordingly. The state government must create storage facilities to keep the perishable goods,” Panda suggested.