KNOW YOUR ONIONS:WHO LET THE PRICE RISE

BY:

VARUN KUMAR

VIKRANT BHONGLE

VINAYAK TAYSHETYE

ADITYA KAPOOR

A Twitter user tweeted, “Forget the Nike, Zara and Lacoste sales. I’m waiting for my localsabsiwalla’s (vegetable seller’s) onion sale.”

Inflation rose to 4.86 per cent in June, driven mainly by rising prices of food articles, especially vegetables including onion. Inflation based on the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) had stood at 4.70 per cent in May.

Inflation in onion shot up by 114 per cent in June, from 97.40 per cent in the previous month.

Why onion prices are so high

Farmer sells to trader for Rs. 20 per kg.

Trader sells to wholesaler for Rs. 30-80 per kg.

"It's a straight fact. Onion prices have gone up. Due to heavy rains, a lot of the crop is damaged," said Sharad Pawar, Union Agriculture Minister.

"We cannot understand this price rise, because the arrivals are still alright. There are no reports of any major damage to the crops," said Sanjeev Chopra, MD, NAFED.

Thank you